Now, That's Different!
by Anakin T Skywalker
Summary: Something very strange happens to Anakin and Obi-Wan during a journey through hyperspace.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Star Wars.**

This one is a little weird, but that's because part of it came from a dream I had before I started writing it. It won't all be strange, eerie stuff like this first chapter, though. It will (I hope?) get very funny very shortly.

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Interstellar space was dark. And cold. And empty.

Until two Jedi starfighters locked into hyperdrive rings seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

The pilots of the starfighters sat in stunned silence; neither had intended to come out of hyperspace here!

"Anakin, do you copy?" Obi-wan's voice finally said over the comlink.

"Yes, Master," replied Anakin, out of habit.

"What happened?" queried Obi-wan. He sounded confused. "Did we plot our coordinates incorrectly?"

"No," responded Anakin, exhaling. "I don't know about yours, but my hyperdrive simply shut down, as if it was brought out by a mass shadow or something."

Obi-wan sighed in frustration. "How could that be, if our coordinates were plotted correctly?"

"I didn't say it _was_ a mass shadow, I only said that the hyperdrive responded the same way as it would to a mass shadow," replied Anakin carefully, as though Obi-wan were three years old.

Obi-wan frowned. He felt that there was something very, very odd about this whole situation. Listening to Anakin's voice, he detected a very delicate, barely noticeable edge to it. Obi-wan knew that this meant that Anakin was frightened – possibly _very_ frightened – and trying to hide it. This only confirmed his own fear: while being jerked out of hyperspace for no apparent reason and coming out in empty space was never normal, this incident had something completely _unnatural _to it.

Both Jedi sat in silence and tried to fathom why their ships were drifting in space. What could be wrong? Perhaps both of their hyperdrives had simply failed… at the same time. No, the engines wouldn't have both failed simultaneously; that was just too much coincidence. Unless, of course, they had been sabotaged. This could be someone's nasty way to get rid of two famous Jedi: sabotage their hyperdrives so they would fail in deep space and leave the Jedi stranded among the stars, too far out to reach a planet with their sublights before they ran out of fuel and their life support systems finally failed.

Even that was impossible, however. The ships had come out of hyperspace at exactly the same moment – which was actually a good thing; if one had kept going even a second longer, they could have ended up lightyears apart. But no saboteur could have ensured that they would both come out at exactly the same time – why would he want to, anyway? – and the chances that it would happen by accident were ridiculously slim.

Anakin finally broke their silent concentration. "Master," he said, swallowing and clearing his throat nervously.

Obi-wan waited for it. When Anakin didn't continue, he prompted, "Yes?"

Anakin was obviously having trouble with whatever he was trying to say. "Master," he repeated finally. "I've been thinking back over what I remember from just before we came out of hyperspace."

"And?"

"Master," Anakin hesitated, breathing heavily. He was frightened, and Obi-wan found that in itself frightening.

"Obi-wan." Anakin gulped audibly over the comlink. When he spoke, his voice was high pitched and strained with fear. "Did you, by any chance, _see anything_ out there before we were pulled out of hyperspace?"

Obi-wan almost laughed. See something in hyperspace? Of course not; it was impossible! All that could be seen while traveling at lightspeed was a swirling blue blur.

He was wondering why his former Padawan would even ask such a stupid question when it finally dawned on him: _Anakin_ had seen something.

It took him a moment to digest that.

Then he sighed and asked, "What was it you saw?"

Anakin took a deep breath, "I saw a ring of blue light around us – just a flash of it. And that was the moment we fell out of hyperspace." He sighed. "I know it sounds crazy, but – that's the message my brain got from my eyes.

Obi-wan sat there, stunned. The fact that this "vision" had coincided with the moment their hyperdrives shut down was enough to convince him that the two incidents were related. But how?

Anakin's voice came over the comlink again, even more edged with fear. "Master! Look directly ahead of us!"

Obi-wan stared for several seconds. Maybe Anakin really was becoming insane; there was nothing there.

"Anakin, I'm sorry, I don't see anything. Not even a star."

Then it hit him. _There were no stars in front of him._ Space was entirely empty, a black void of nothingness. To the sides and around the edges of the view out the front of his cockpit, there were myriad stars just as there ought to be. But their starfighters were pointed directly toward an almost perfectly circular black empty patch

Terror gripped both of them as the reality sank in: they had been pulled out of hyperspace by a black hole that wasn't on the charts. It seemed small to be a black hole, but a black hole of any size at this range would inexorably pull them in.

Obi-wan spoke to comfort Anakin. "Yes, my brother, we will most likely die, and will certainly never be able to return to Coruscant. But remember, 'There is no death, there is the Force.' We must calm ourselves and let go of all attachments and prepare ourselves to join it, as Jedi should."

He heard Anakin's shuddery sigh, and wished they were in the same ship so they might meet death side by side, hand in hand as brothers. But they could not. They were separated by the hulls of their fighters and the hard vacuum in between.

Obi-wan resigned himself to what must be, and prepared to reach into the Force, when suddenly wild, powerful emotions from Anakin assaulted him across their bond.

"Anakin, what is it?" he cried.

"_Force,_ Master!"

Obi-wan was about to scold him for his irreverent language when he realized Anakin meant _the_ Force. Obi-wan quickly reached into it and was blown away by what he found there. This place in space was pulsing and twisting with the Force! Especially the "black hole," which Obi-wan suddenly had the tiniest bit of doubt about; The Force radiated from it, almost seeming to beckon. When he saw with his own eyes the Force dancing across space around them, like a light show, his very soul thrilled and resonated within him. An even deeper thrill rocked him to his core when he realized that the light was bright blue – like the ring of light Anakin had described.

Both Anakin and Obi-wan sat in their cockpits, awestruck with the power of the place.

"What _is_ this place?" Anakin breathed in a hushed whisper.

Slowly, the light show began to diminish, gathering toward the "black hole" or whatever it was.

"I'm following it, Master!" Anakin cried in an impassioned voice, his fear all gone.

"No! Anakin!" cried Obi-wan in horror as Anakin engaged his sublight engines. "What are you doing? You don't even know what's out there!"

"I know I'm supposed to go," replied Anakin, his ship taking off after the receding light.

Suddenly, both ship and light vanished into the black void.

Anakin was gone.

Obi-wan realized with a shock that he had just lost his brother, that he would never see his best friend again.

He broke down and wept.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Star Wars. **(But I do have a replica lightsaber…)

Sorry it has taken so long, I've been busy with school and haven't had much time to work on this. It's pretty weird, but that's because most of it was written between one and two in the morning. Hopefully some of it is funny to someone; if no one likes it I will stop. I started it mainly as a bit of lighter work to relieve some of the tension from a much longer story I am working on.

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Anakin's starfighter tore through space, trying to catch up with the light, but the light was diminishing anyway. Anakin brought his hand down on his console in frustration. Suddenly, the light disappeared, revealing a blue and white planet. Anakin had never seen it before, and it wasn't on any map that he'd ever looked at.

"Artoo?" he addressed his astromech, "What planet is that?"

"Roooo," said Artoo after a few seconds of what Anakin assumed was scanning his navigation database. The words scrolled across Anakin's translation screen, but he didn't need to see them to know that the droid's response was, 'I don't know.'

Anakin was silent for a moment, waiting for the Force to hint what he should do.

Then he told Artoo, "Well… let's go find out!"

A slow grin spread itself across his face as he prepared to be probably the first citizen of the Galactic Republic to set foot on this new planet.

The entry into the atmosphere was rough, but once he was safely in, it wasn't too bad. There was no request for clearance, no traffic guide to follow. Of course, there was almost no air traffic, either; just a few odd-looking craft that moved so slowly, you couldn't hit them unless it was intentional. The landscape was flat and white, with a few of what he assumed were trees in clumps here and there. As he neared the surface, he realized that the whiteness was due to a thick blanket of snow. He sighed; either he'd found another ice planet or he'd arrived in the middle of winter. He began to scan the landscape for civilization. There were buildings here and there, but nothing like a real city just yet.

He saw long, straight gray lines cutting across the planet's surface and couldn't imagine what they could be. As he pulled his starfighter down for a closer look, he saw that the lines, which looked thicker when he came closer to them, were covered with small moving objects. He initially thought that they might be some form of native insect, but when he flew closer, he realized that they were all made out of metal and quite large, some approaching the size of his starfighter. Also, they moved quite quickly for living creatures (although their speed was no where close to the speed of Anakin's fighter). It seemed they did this by rolling or gliding somehow on their perfectly round "legs."

_That_ was … different.

He wondered if they were dangerous creatures, because a look at his fuel gauge told him he'd need to land and pick up more fuel if he hoped to make it back to Coruscant. He no longer believed it was a black hole that had pulled them out of hyperspace; it had to have been this strange planet. Either way though, if he were going to get fuel, he would have to land, and that meant the possibility of an encounter with one of the insects.

Anakin decided to experiment by flying in among them. He found a good sized space between them and slipped his fighter in, very close to the ground and that gray ribbon that was spread over it. At that moment he heard a loud squealing sound and a couple of _clunk_s behind him. He figured it was probably a distress call of some sort and heightened his alert; frightened creatures tend to be more dangerous than calm ones.

His fears seemed ungrounded, however, for none of the strange creatures attacked him. He had come in among them hoping to get a better look at them, but he was so distracted with trying not to upset them that he had not actually gotten any information. Also, his starfighter's view panels were not quite in the right position to allow him to observe the creatures from his present angle, so he decided to pull back out of the procession.

It was well that he pulled out when he did, because a moment later they all slowed and stopped for some reason. Flying along above them, he saw a flat red octagonal thing on top of a post; it looked like an old-fashioned sign of some sort. All of the creatures were stopped before it, and another gray strip crossed the first one; more of the creatures poured over this in a direction perpendicular to that of the others.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. The gray strips were roads, albeit of a strange sort, and the insect-looking "creatures" were actually droids of some kind! Anakin felt extraordinarily foolish.

He continued to fly above the procession, noticing more of the red octagonal things along the road. The droids stopped at each one, and Anakin idly wondered why as he sped on over their heads.

The lack of air traffic confused Anakin, but he didn't mind not having to watch out for anyone else. He continued to follow above the road, hoping it would eventually lead to something that looked like a city. He was so focused on his task that he didn't notice that several of the droids near him had flashing red-and-blue lights. He did, however, notice the large thing which suddenly appeared in the air. Anakin initially thought it was some kind of traffic – finally – but then it spoke in loud, echoing tones he could hear even through the transparisteel of his cockpit.

"This is the police. You are under arrest. Land your plane in the field nearby."

Anakin had no intention of doing that; instead, he asked Artoo to identify the comm channel they were using. After some bleeping and whistling, Artoo informed Anakin that it was a very old, crude radio signal, but that if he wished, Anakin could still communicate with the "police" from his ship.

Anakin hailed them just as they were repeating their instructions for him to "land his plane."

"Land my what?"

"Your plane, sir, the vehicle you are in. You are under arrest and must land immediately.'

"Why? What have I done?"

"You are not permitted to fly a plane down a public highway."

Anakin grinned. "I'm not. This is a starfighter."

"You are not permitted to fly _anything _down a public highway." Whoever was doing the talking in the other vehicle had been speaking calmly, obviously trying not to startle Anakin into doing something that could danage the droids on the road below. Now, however, the voice held more than a hint of exasperation. Anakin, trying not to laugh, gave one more question.

"Why not? I haven't hit anything yet!"

With that, he sent a surge of power to the engines of his fighter and streaked off above the road, leaving the "police" to contemplate an answer to his question. Anakin smiled in glee that was definitely not Jedi-like; messing with their little minds had been way too much fun. He realized that they must have separate roads for flying and non-flying vehicles, and the traffic police must be into rules – just like the Jedi Council! He smirked. It was ridiculous, though – they obviously had no idea how to handle him – as if they had never seen a flying vehicle before!

Anakin's amusement was soon quenched, however. His little extra burn had put the distance between him and the police, as well as given the self-important idiots a little reality check, but it had cost him in fuel. He began looking out for a place to land. Just as the craft reached the end of its fuel supply, Anakin located a field that looked safe enough and set the fighter down.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Star Wars** (Okay, so I own _two_ replica lightsabers…)

For those of you who asked about where Anakin is, the answer is yes.

For you who asked about where Obi-wan is, the answer is: right where Anakin left him. He'll be staying there for a little while, actually, until he's over his shock and grief enough to listen to the Force again.

I apologize to those of you who read this when I had put in the wrong document; I can't believe I did such a dumb thing. Thank you for calling it to my attention so I could fix it. I guess that's what I get for adding chapters at two or three in the morning.

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Anakin climbed out of his fighter and immediately regretted it. The air was _really_ cold. Already he was shivering as he realized that there was one small problem with his landing his starfighter in the big, empty field: there was nothing _but_ field for a long way in all directions.

The nearest feature on the frozen landscape was a city. It was a ways off, but he figured he could make it in a two or three hours' walk. There was a crust of ice thick enough to support his weight on top of the snow, so walking wouldn't be too hard, and after all, he was a Jedi!

He returned to his starfighter to put safely away in the hangar.

The hangar wasn't there.

Small problem number two.

He'd left his vehicle unattended out in the open before, of course, but if he were

being tracked by overenthusiastic local traffic authorities – well, even they could not fail to notice his bright, glaringly yellow starfighter in the midst of all that white.

He pondered his options for several minutes and finally came to the conclusion that they were: (Aurek) Leave it, get fuel and come back for it later, (Besh) Leave it, get fuel and come back for it later, or (Cresh) Leave it, get fuel and come back for it later. Anakin was really, really cold, and he knew he would need his strength to reach the city on foot. There was no conceivable way to hide his vehicle, but it was beginning to get dark, so perhaps the cover of night would help conceal it. Just in case, he used the Force to put a shield around the vehicle, so that if anyone did find it, they wouldn't be able to touch it. He instructed Artoo to power down and headed out in the direction of the city.

Fifteen minutes into the walk, Anakin noticed that the sky was dark not simply because evening was approaching, but because it was filled with heavy, steely gray clouds.

Twenty minutes into the walk, the wind picked up.

Twenty-five minutes into the walk, the first flakes fell.

Half an hour into the walk, snow was blowing into Anakin's face so that he could hardly see. He stumbled along, pulling his cloak tightly around him in an attempt to keep warm.

One hour into the walk, the snow crust that had held him up broke under him, and he sank over his knees into a drift of snow. His boots quickly filled with ice water as he floundered his way out of the snowbank and tried without success to find snow that would bear his weight. He finally gave it up and resumed his walk, resigned now to trudging through snow nearly a foot deep. The snow wasn't as thick now, and the wind had died down, but the snow was still falling, and it was beginning to get dark in earnest as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. The city was still discouragingly far away to his tired eyes, and he wondered what exactly he had been thinking. Three hours' walk! He would be lucky if he could make it in five!

It was actually five and a half hours later when Anakin reached the outskirts of the city. The sky had long been completely dark, and the snow was still falling just heavily enough to ensure that Anakin's clothing remained completely drenched. The temperature was now falling rapidly, and the ends of Anakin's hair were frozen. He was shivering uncontrollably, and he realized that he was beginning to suffer from hypothermia and that he needed to get himself warm as soon as possible. He was hoping that he would soon come across some public place where he could rest and recover for a few minutes before searching for a place to stay the night and finding fuel, but so far, the buildings seemed mostly to be private residences. As he dragged his weary body up the street, he saw something that shocked him back into alertness.

Several of the houses had trees in front of them, trees that bore a fruit unlike any he had ever seen before: they gave off light! Not just a faded glow, as something phosphorescent would, but real, bright, twinkling light! They were in many different colors; some trees bore only one color of the tiny fruits, others bore several colors on the same tree. Anakin was amazed; the inhabitants of this planet had a natural light source, then! Whenever they needed light, they could simply go outside and pick some!

Anakin knew he was getting too cold, standing still and staring for so long, but he couldn't contain his curiosity. Slowly, he staggered his way over to one of the trees to examine the light-fruit that grew on them.

On the slow, weary, painful way, Anakin's attention was caught by something else: the house before him had a large window, and through it, he could see another light tree – growing inside the house! He gawked unashamedly, no loner even caring how cold he was.

Suddenly, he was startled by a sound. He sluggishly turned his head toward it and saw that a male human was standing, framed by light, in a doorway into the house.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" the man asked sharply.

"Uhhh, s-s-sorry sir… I was j-j-just… l-l-looking… at your l-l-l-light t-trees…" Anakin gasped through chattering teeth. Talking was so hard! The lights began to blur before his eyes. "Th-the one ins-s-side… y-you d-d-don't even… have t-t-to… g-g-go outside… t-to p-p-p-pick th-them…"

The lights made strange patterns of streaks before his eyes as the ground beneath his feet tilted crazily. He felt snow on the side of his face, and then he felt nothing at all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Star Wars. **(Alright, alright, fine – _three_ replica lightsabers!)

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Anakin awoke to find that he was lying on something soft and elevated off the ground, in a room filled with a yellowish light. Next he noticed that he was much warmer than he had been when he lost consciousness. His extremities still felt cold, and his insides felt cold as well (a very odd feeling), but he was no longer shivering. The next thing he discovered was that he could not move his arms or legs. He struggled against whatever was holding him, and succeeded in rolling off of whatever he was lying on onto the floor. It was a bit of a hard fall, but at least his arms and legs were free again.

He sat up and discovered the vicious object that had held his limbs prisoner – a blanket. Anakin stared at the floor for a bit, feeling foolish for having panicked over a blanket. Then he looked around, trying to get his bearings. On one wall there was a fireplace with a brilliant fire going. A glance across the room informed him that he was inside the house in whose window he had seen the light tree. Anakin could also see that light was not the only thing that grew on this kind of tree; many other tiny, rather outlandish objects dangled from the branches. He was just going to creep over and examine it more closely, when a voice startled him again.

"So you're awake now?"

Anakin stared up at what had to be the largest, tallest human he'd ever seen. The man was at least two meters tall, with a very heavy build and a stern look in his eyes. Anakin found himself wishing that he could have chosen some other home to collapse in front of; he realized that his activities had to appear suspicious, and he didn't really feel up to any sort of dispute with the man.

"Well, then, I think you'd better explain yourself. What exactly were you doing on our front lawn?"

Anakin took a deep breath, and decided that the truth was the best choice. Just as he started his story, a woman, most likely the man's wife, came and stood behind him. She appeared to be a much kindlier-looking person, with an expression of pure concern and a tiny, petite build. It was almost funny seeing the large man and the small woman together.

Anakin launched into his tale. "I was admiring your light trees. I've never seen one of those before. I'd been walking through the snow for the last seven hours and I needed a rest, so I stopped to look at them for a while. Then I woke up in here."

The man snorted. "Light trees? What are you high on?"

"I've never touched spice in my life!" Anakin replied indignantly, jumping to his feet at the same time the woman coaxed, "Oh, Steve, let him be, he's been walking for seven hours in this weather!"

"All right, all right," said the man, who apparently was named Steve. "Why were you walking for seven hours in the snow?"

Anakin explained carefully, as if to a small child, how his ship had run out of fuel, leaving out the part about the police, and how he had been forced to walk to the city. "And then," he concluded, "I saw your trees. Where I come from, light doesn't grow on trees; having never seen anything like them before, I couldn't help but stop to examine them more closely."

Steve looked at Anakin skeptically. "You want me to believe that you've never seen Christmas lights before?"

"Kriss-muss lights? Is that what they're called?"

"Yeah, buddy, that's what they're called. I don't know how you expect me to believe that you don't know that"—

"Steve, maybe he's from a different country," put in the woman.

"Okay. Where are you from?" said Steve, addressing Anakin.

"Well, I was born on Tatooine, but I live in the Temple on Coruscant"—

"I asked where you lived, not your whole life story – wait a minute. Coruscant! Where on earth is that?!"

"Earth?" said Anakin, perplexed. "Ummm, I don't think Coruscant is on Earth. Coruscant is a planet itself; in fact, it's the capital of the Galactic Republic. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. I mean, your planet isn't _that _far in the Outer Rim!"

"Oh, so you're not from Earth!" Steve said condescendingly. "I suppose you're an alien, then?"

"No," said Anakin, even more confused, "I'm a human, just like you are. You are human, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm human!" shouted the man. "Look, I don't know what your game is, but you picked the wrong night to play it! I mean, what kind of fool goes around telling people he's from another planet, just for the fun of it, on a night like this? Young man, I don't know if you realize this, but you were in a bad way! If I hadn't seen you out there, you probably would have died of hypothermia!"

Anakin considered this, realized that man was right, and was about to thank him when a young girl with an armful of old-fashioned flimsi-books appeared in the doorway behind Steve and his wife.

"Mom? Can you help me with this problem? I – hey, what's going on out here?"

Upon catching sight of Anakin, she dropped all of her books and slapped her hands on her cheeks, shrieking, "Ohmygosh!!! Mom, that's _Anakin Skywalker!_ From Jeff's _Star Wars_ movies!"

Oblivious to Anakin's incredulous, "You don't know what Coruscant is, but she knows my name?", the woman tried to calm her daughter down, saying soothingly, "No, it's not, it can't be, honey. Anakin is just a movie character. This man might look a little like Anakin, but he's not. Daddy found him outside in the snow; he was cold, and we took him inside to warm up. That's all."

Steve overheard Anakin, though, and stared at him with his brow furrowed. "Wait. Everybody quiet for a moment. Okay. You," he said, pointing at Anakin, "say that again."

"How can she recognize me and know my name if you don't even know what Coruscant is?"

Silence hung in the air.

"You're trying to tell me that your name is Anakin Skywalker?" Steve finally said.

"You've heard of me, too?" Anakin replied.

"This is some kind of stupid joke," Steve said, but his eyes were suddenly roaming Anakin's still-wet Jedi robes.

"That's impossible," Steve finally concluded wearily. "Anakin Skywalker is a fictional character. All but the worst _Star Wars_ junkies know he doesn't really exist. I guess you must be one of those, dressing up and impersonating him, trying to play a joke on us normal people. Well, I'm not fooled. Tell me where you live and I'll give you a ride home, but don't do it again, 'cause next time, I'm calling the police."

"But… I live on Coruscant. I _am _Anakin Skywalker; that's my name!"

Steve looked irritated at first; then a slow smile crossed his face. "All right. We'll just see about that. Jeff!" he called down the hall. "Jeff! Come here, I have something to show you!"

Anakin heard a loud thumping down the hall, and a boy who appeared to be in his teen years joined the family group.

"What's up"—he began, then stopped in mid-sentence. "Whoa," he said a moment later, his jaw hanging open.

"Jeff, this guy wants us to believe that he's Anakin Skywalker. What do you think?"

"Uhhh, well, uhhhh, wow. I mean, he looks just like him, except for the scar. Uhhh, Mr., if you're Anakin, then, uhhh, when was the last time you saw Padmé?"

"A few days ago, before we left for the Outer Rim."

"How long ago were you knighted?"

"About a month."

Jeff turned to his father. "That makes sense… it could be. If he were real. I mean, how does _that_ work?"

"That's what I want to know. Stranger," he said to Anakin, "if you want me to believe you're Anakin Skywalker, then you'd better have some pretty good proof to offer. I can't believe anything you say, but my son here should know something you could do."

Jeff thought for a moment, "Lightsaber. Where's your lightsaber?"

Anakin pulled it out.

Jeff gazed for a moment, then said, "Turn it on."

Anakin ignited his lightsaber, and the blue beam blazed forth. The family group stood in stunned silence.

Finally, Steve spoke again. "Okay, so you've got a toy. A really, really nice toy, but a toy nonetheless. What does that prove?"

Jeff shook his head, not taking his eyes off the glowing blue blade. "Even the nice ones aren't _that_ good. And the blades don't go into the handles, either."

Steve didn't want to be convinced. "Give me another proof. One more, and I'll believe him."

Jeff thought for another moment. Finally, he came up something. "How 'bout the Force? Can we see you use the Force? Pick up that pen on the table, there."

Anakin easily levitated it, to the astonishment of the family.

"Do Mom's coffee cup, there," said Jeff when he found his voice.

Anakin did.

"The sofa."

Anakin did.

"The bookcase over there."

Anakin did.

"The Christmas tree, with all the stuff on it. Don't let anything fall off."

Anakin did that, too.

Steve let out a sigh. "Okay, fine, you're Anakin Skywalker. How, then, did you come to be here?"

"I don't really know," answered Anakin truthfully. "My ship was pulled out of hyperspace, and the only thing that could have pulled me out was this planet. It's not on any of the star maps I've ever seen, so naturally, I came down here to check it out. Actually, I didn't see the planet until after this Force phenomenon. It was like it did a light show. I've never seen anything like it before, but when it went away, I saw the planet. So I guess maybe it was the will of the Force that I stop here."

"Well, then, Anakin, I'm Steve, and I guess I owe you an apology for not believing you. This is my wife, Angela, and these are my kids. Jeff's fifteen, he's into this _Star Wars _thing, and Jamie here's eleven."

"Nice to meet you," said Anakin. Quite suddenly, he began to shiver. Despite the warmth of the room, his insides still felt all cold, and his clothing was wet from the long trek through the snow.

Angela saw the shivers, and said compassionately, "Oh, you poor thing, here you are, after a seven hour's walk through the cold and snow, standing here in your wet clothes getting chilled. You need a hot bath and some dry clothes to wear. I'll get you some of Steve's to wear while your own dry."

Anakin was about to protest, but she said, 'You cannot go out again tonight, the weather is just too bad. No, you settle in and stay with us, at least for tonight. We don't have a spare bedroom, but you can sleep on the couch. Here, come with me." He obediently followed her to the master bedroom, where Angela pulled out some clothing for him to borrow. She then directed him to the refresher and handed him a towel.

"Just put your wet things on the floor, and I'll wash and dry them later. Now get yourself warmed up!"

The hot water helped warm Anakin's chilled limbs and washed his shivers away. He emerged from the refresher feeling warm and comfortable. The bright red shirt, which had crisscrossing colored lines on it, and the soft, baggy grey pants were much to large for him, but that only made them more comfortable. He felt relaxed and a bit sleepy. Well, make that very sleepy.

Angela appeared as soon as he was done in the refresher and whisked his clothing off to some other room, saying she was putting it in the "dryer". Then she led Anakin back over to the couch. She gave him a blanket and put a couple of extra ones on a chair nearby, then handed him a pillow and told him to make himself comfortable. Then she turned out the lights in the large room, so that it was lit only by the fire and went to join her family, who were waiting in the kitchen for her. "Sleep well!" she called back through the door at Anakin.

Anakin placed the pillow at one end of the couch, then curled up on it and pulled the blanket over himself. He had only a few moments to enjoy the warmth before he fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Star Wars** (Except for three replica lightsabers and a few novels…)

I know it's been a long time since my last update; my apologies. Once you have started down the path of final exams, forever will they dominate your destiny -- until break! Good news: this chapter is my longest yet, and I am now officially freed from the influence of homwork for the duration of the Christmas (Kriss-muss?) season, so I should be able to update more often.

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Anakin was awakened by whispering voices. Well, at least, it sounded like they were_ trying_ to whisper – and not succeeding.

"Shhh! You'll wake him up!"

"Shouldn't he wake up soon anyway?"

"Let him sleep; he's probably really tired. Mom says he walked a really long way in the snow last night."

"But if he sleeps all day, Dad won't be able to come to my ice show!"

"Who cares about your stupid ice show?"

Anakin heard a gasp.

"I'm telling Mom!"

"Awww, shut up, Jamie! Quit being so selfish!"

Anakin decided it would be prudent to "wake up" before things escalated any further. He deliberately yawned and stretched, then opened his eyes and sat up on the couch. "Good morning. What time is it?"

The boy looked at his chrono. "It's, like, 11:30."

The girl ran from the room, and Anakin could hear her voice ringing through the house. "Mom! Mom! Mom! Anakin's awake!"

The lady of the house appeared in the doorway of the shortly afterwards. "Good morning… Anakin… I hope you slept well?"

"Yes, thank you, very well. I appreciate your hospitality – you most likely saved my life last night!"

Angela smiled. "We're glad to help a fellow man in need. Now, would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes, thank you, that would be nice." Anakin was trying his best to remember his polite manners; he usually left that sort of thing to Obi-wan. Fortunately, Angela smiled.

"What do you like to eat?"

Anakin shrugged. "I don't know, most of the stuff you have will be new to me anyway."

Angela laughed. "Would you like to try a banana?"

Anakin wasn't sure what a banana was, but he was willing to try it.

He followed her into the kitchen, the children tagging after them. "I was thinking that today I would find a place to get fuel for my starfighter so I no longer have to impose on you. Do you have any suggestions about where to start?"

Jeff piped up, "You may not be able to get the kind of fuel you need. The only fuel you can get around here is gasoline or diesel."

Anakin frowned. "Then we have a problem. My fighter won't take that."

"Do you have someone you can call nearby to bring you some fuel?"

Anakin brightened momentarily. "Obi-wan. He wasn't too far away." He located his comlink on the belt that he had removed the night before. He turned it on… and heard nothing but static. Anakin quickly realized that he was either out of range or the strange void in space was somehow disrupting their comlinks. He despaired of ever getting home until he remembered the Force.

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Obi-wan sat up from his long, mourning reverie. Was that Anakin he heard?

_Master, I am safe for now, but I need more fuel to get back. It is unavailable on the planet I am on. Could you return to Republic airspace and bring me some extra fuel?_

"Anakin! Where are you? I thought you were dead!"

_I'm on a planet, Master. I think it's a new one. I've never seen it on any star maps before. My fighter's out of fuel, so I'm stuck here unless someone brings me some."_

"Anakin, I don't want to leave you here! What if I can't find you again?"

_Use the Force to find me. I have a feeling that it will let you. I have to go now, but please come soon!_

Obi-wan was amazed, but he rejoiced as he started his fighter's engines and began scanning space for the nearest civilized star system. Anakin was alive!

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"Anakin? Are you still sleeping?"

Anakin came out of his trance and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I was just trying to reach my Master."

Angela looked confused and amused. "I've been standing here, holding this banana for you for five minutes!"

Anakin apologized again and took the yellow, crescent-shaped object she offered him.

So this was a banana! He considered it for a few seconds, then bit into the wide

end. It was tougher than he had expected; he could barely bite through it all the

way. Then he tried to chew; part of it was soft, and part of it was next to

unchewable. It also didn't taste very good; he couldn't help but make a face.

Then he noticed that Jamie and Jeff were both watching him with wide eyes,

trying not to laugh.

"Mom!" giggled Jamie. "Look what he's doing!"

Angela turned, a surprised and amused expression crossing her face as soon as

she saw him. "Oh, goodness! Not like that! You're supposed to peel it first!"

Anakin watched as she took the banana and broke off the skinny end with a

snap, then pulled the thick skin down in strips.

"There! _Now_ you can eat it!" she said, handing it back to him. She also handed

him a napkin that reminded him of flimsiplast. He discreetly used it to spit out the

piece of banana that he had been trying to chew.

Then he bit into the peeled banana. Angela was right – it tasted a lot better with

the peel off. He still didn't care much for the mushy texture, but the flavor was

okay.

"So, were you able to reach your… um… Master?"

"Yes, I communicated with him through the Force. I asked him to bring some fuel,

but it will most likely be a few days before he gets here with it. Especially if he

gets lost." Anakin smiled ruefully.

"Well, you're welcome to stay with us until he does arrive," said Angela sincerely.

Anakin noticed the dark look that crossed Jamie's face; she obviously wasn't

thrilled with that idea. He could think of no logical reason that she would dislike

him, though, so he tried to put it out of his mind.

"Are you still hungry?" continued Angela. "I made some oatmeal, if you'd like

some."

Anakin didn't know what that was, either, but he was hungry enough that he was willing to try anything. Besides, he didn't want to hurt Angela's feelings…

Angela served him a hot bowl of mushy stuff that turned out to be edible, though rather bland. Anakin began wondering if they even had solid food on this planet.

While he ate, Angela inadvertently cleared up the mystery of Jamie's apparent dislike for him.

"Well, Anakin, today Jamie has her ice show at two, and our family will going to watch her. It would be most convenient if you would come along; however, if you'd rather not, my husband will stay here with you."

Anakin understood: They didn't want a stranger alone in their house. Jamie was worried that his presence there would keep her father from coming to see her. The idea of an ice show didn't sound all that attractive to him, but he decided to be polite and win the girl's friendship by tagging along. After all, he was a guest, and these people _had_ essentially saved his life last night!

"Oh, I'll come along, if there's room for me in the speeder!" he said lightly, not understanding why they gave him strange looks. He decided to ignore it and continue on. He turned to Jamie. "So, tell me about your ice show. I mean, I guess I'm a little confused; I mean, ice is interesting stuff, but where I come from, we don't usually have special events just to show it to people."

Jamie shrieked with laughter. "You don't show ice to people!" she choked out in between giggles. "That would be boring! In an ice show, you _skate _on ice, and people watch you!"

"Oh, I see," said Anakin, feeling more confused than before. "It sounds like an interesting experience."

Anakin finished his breakfast, then put on his own clothing, which was now dry. He was told that they would be leaving at 12:30pm, because Jamie needed to be at the show early and it took an hour to get there.

Anakin spent the half-hour of free time talking to Jeff, attempting to draw him out. The boy was sullen and shy at first, but he soon began to talk more freely. He spoke better Basic than most teenage boys Anakin had met, including himself. He remembered his own days of trying to talk "cool," and acting sullen, and then discovering that it didn't matter how "cool" he thought he sounded if no one wanted to talk to him because he put them off.

He asked Jeff a question that had been bothering him since last night.

"So, why are those trees called kriss-muss trees? They have the weirdest fruit I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot."

Jeff laughed. "I suppose you wouldn't know about that, would you? They're called Christmas trees because we decorate them for a holiday called Christmas. And, no, that stuff doesn't grow on 'em. We put it there to look pretty."

Anakin was a little disappointed. "So the lights don't grow on them, either?"

Jeff grinned widely. "Nope. Gosh, this is fun having you around. I can hardly stand to think that day after tomorrow I have to go back to school while you're still here. Least there's only three days of it before vacation."

"There's one thing I'm familiar with!" laughed Anakin. He knew what vacation was!

"So, are you going to tell your friends at school that you have met the illustrious Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear?" he asked with false egotism – well, mostly false.

Jeff considered it. "I dunno, I doubt any of them would believe me if I told them I had a Star Wars character staying in my house."

Anakin crinkled his brow. "What are Star Wars?"

Just then, Angela called from the kitchen. "Everybody get in the car!"

"Time to go," said Jeff, rolling his eyes.

Anakin followed him out a side door into a small hangar, pulling on his Jedi robe on the way.

In the hangar sat one of those large, insect-looking droids. Anakin looked around for a vehicle until it dawned on him – that thing_ was _the vehicle! "Oh. You guys still have only ground transportation," he commented as he climbed inside th primitive vehicle.

Jeff raised and eyebrow. "Yeah, we have airplanes, but those are only for long journeys, like over continents. Other than that, we're stuck on the ground."

Anakin sighed as the vehicle started moving. No wonder they didn't have any appropriate fuel for his starship! So here he was, stuck on…

"Ummm… where am I, anyway?" He felt foolish for not having asked before.

"Earth. This is Earth."

Here he was, stuck on Earth – a planet that was limited to ground transportation – riding to an "ice show" in a… whatever this vehicle was called.

"Uhhh, could you tell me what you call this thing we're riding in.

Jeff sighed patiently. "This is a car."

Anakin repeated the word to himself, gazing out the window. He sighed. No wonder it took them an hour to get to the ice show – he didn't think he'd ever seen a slower vehicle in his life! They all fell silent, and Anakin slipped into boredom so severe that he began to consider watching the colored lines on the side of the road to be entertainment.

It was some indefinite period of time after that began that Anakin noticed he was beginning to feel queasy. He figured that it was just a bit of indigestion, that the weird, mushy food he'd eaten for breakfast just wasn't sitting quite right with him, and used the Force to try to calm his stomach.

It worked – for a few minutes. Then the nausea began to return, stronger than before. It grew worse steadily and rapidly, soon reaching a point beyond his Force control abilities. Anakin was just working up his courage to tell the family he felt sick when Jeff turned to him and exclaimed,

"Hey, man, you don't look so good! You okay?"

Anakin shook his head miserably. "Don't feel good 'tall," he mumbled through clenched jaws, a wave of nausea washing his face even paler. Jamie stared at him wide-eyed; a look of recognition crossed her face.

"Dad, we better stop! I think Anakin's carsick!"

It was several minutes before Steve actually found a place to stop the car, and by the time they pulled into what appeared to be a fuel station, Anakin no longer trusted himself to speak. He climbed out of the vehicle as quickly as he could and hurried to the small building. His eyes roved the store desperately for any sign of a refresher, but he found none until Jamie frantically dragged him toward a sign that read "Restrooms." Hoping that it was a different word for the same thing, he bolted in the direction Jamie was pulling him.

He emerged several minutes later, his formerly pale face red with embarrassment. Angela was waiting for him and guided him gently to a chair near the door. She offered him a greenish bottle filled with some clear fluid.

"Drink this. It will help you feel better," she said kindly.

Anakin didn't really feel like he wanted to drink anything, but he decided to trust her judgment. The drink was fizzy and stung his tongue, and the taste was tangy-sweet and bitter, but Anakin soon discovered Angela was right: the drink did help settle his upset stomach.

"This sometimes happens to people on long car rides," she explained. "It's a form of motion sickness that occurs when your body and your eyes perceive you to be moving at different speeds. If you start to feel sick, it sometimes helps to look out the window and watch the horizon. You don't need to worry, though; I picked up some Dramamine for the way back, and if you take it half an hour before we leave, you shouldn't have a problem."

They walked back to the car, Anakin clutching the drink Angela had given him. He slumped on the seat and took another sip from the beverage.

"We're only about fifteen or twenty minutes from the ice rink," announced Steve as he started the car, "so we should still get there in time."

Jeff climbed into and slid down the seat until he was beside Anakin, but it was several moments before Anakin noticed that the teen was laughing softly to himself.

"What?" asked Anakin, a bit grumpily.

Jeff turned and looked at him. "You're the best pilot in the galaxy, you love flying, and you can fly anything, anytime, anywhere, but one forty-five-minute ride in a car and you get carsick?"

Anakin had to admit that did seem ironic. "Didn't know not to watch the ground," he mumbled.

"Also," Jeff continued, "you may not want to have Jamie guide you to a bathroom anymore – the one she brought you to was the girls'.

Anakin hid his face in his hands mortification.

They reached the "ice rink" without further incident and arrived in plenty of time for the show. While decidedly better than a show of ice would have been, it really wasn't all that exciting. At the beginning Anakin was fascinated by the way the performers glided on a smooth sheet of ice on tiny, narrow blades attached to their boots. They did a few spins and jumps that also impressed Anakin, but by the end of the performance, he was just cold and tired and wanted to get out.

Once the show was over, Angela offered him a water bottle and a tablet. "Swallow this," she said. Anakin protested – he had a hard time swallowing pills – but when he considered the alternatives, he managed to gulp it down. Then the family went to find their daughter in the crowd and congratulate her, Anakin's Jedi robes drawing strange looks from fellow audience members. By the time they had picked up Jamie and walked back to the care, Anakin felt very sleepy, probably as a side effect of the anti-motion sickness drug. Five minutes after Steve had started the car, Anakin crashed in the back seat and slept through the rest of the trip.

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I don't own this either.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Star Wars** (Except for four calendars and three lightsabers…)

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Anakin was awakened by Jeff shaking his shoulder.

"We're home, Anakin. Come on, get out of the car; it's cold out here."

Rubbing his eyes, Anakin groggily shuffled into the house after Jeff. He plopped down on the couch in the living room, willing his eyes to focus.

"I'm so tired," he yawned.

"Probably 'cause of the Dramamine," explained Jeff. "Makes you sleepy."

"Oh," said Anakin, trying to force himself to wake up. It wasn't working well.

"C'mon, man!" said Jeff, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "You can't go back to sleep now, it's almost dinner time!"

Dinner? That broke through the fog that filled Anakin's head. His stomach was quite empty, thanks to the car trip; and despite the unpleasant feelings _that_ thought conjured up, Anakin decided that he was indeed hungry.

He got up from the couch and was walking toward the kitchen when he noticed that Jeff was still sitting on the couch, his eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" asked Anakin.

"Unreal," said Jeff in an awed voice. "I just punched Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin laughed over his shoulder at Jeff and walked into the kitchen.

"How may I help?" he asked Angela, not necessarily to be polite but simply because he was hungry and figured that if he helped, dinner would be ready faster.

"I've got it mostly under control," said Angela. "I just have to reheat the broccoli-cheese soup I made yesterday and slice some bread. But, if you want to put plates and bowls on the table, go ahead."

More mush! Anakin groaned inwardly as he busied himself doing as Angela asked until dinner was ready; then Angela called them all to the table.

When they started eating, Anakin was amazed to discover that dinner included not one but two kinds of mush. There was the soup, which was, of course, liquid, although it turned out to be much more flavorful than he had expected. Then there was some other stuff, which was cold and tasted fruity and sweet; the family seemed to be calling it applesauce. The only food that wasn't mushy was the bread. Still, Anakin enjoyed the meal; he was hungry, and this mush was at least flavorful.

While they ate, they conversed pleasantly, often about Jamie's performance in the ice show.

When there was a lull in the conversation, Steve looked across the table at Anakin, grinning.

"You know, I never thought I'd have a Star Wars character at my dinner table."

There it was again: that "Star Wars" word. Anakin put down his spoon.

"I keep hearing you all talk about 'Star Wars,' and I was just wondering – could you please tell me what the Star Wars are?"

All the family members exchanged glances.

"I guess you wouldn't know, would you?" said Steve finally. "Star Wars is a movie series about" –

"What's a movie?"

"Like a really long holorecording," explained Jeff.

Anakin nodded his understanding, and Steve continued. "Star Wars is a movie series about… well, I guess it would be _your_ galaxy."

"I'm in another galaxy?" asked Anakin, confused.

"And another time. According to the movies, you're from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…" Jeff intoned.

Anakin was taken aback. "How in the worlds did that happen? Wait, there was that Force thing that more or less led me here…"

"You know, you're actually in some of the movies. Oooh!" Jeff suddenly looked concerned. "I guess, technically you're in _all_ of them."

Something about the way the teenager said that made Anakin very, very uncomfortable for some reason.

Jeff suddenly sat straight up and slammed his fist on the table. "That's it!" he exclaimed. "That's why you're here! The Force sent you so you could learn how to avoid that mistake!"

"What mistake?"

Jeff stared at Anakin, his gaze intense and deadly serious. "Anakin. You _have_ to see these movies."

Now everyone at the table stared at Jeff.

"Just trust me on this one, guys. Anyway, we'd better start tonight. There's at least three of them Anakin needs to see, and Obi-wan could come back any time here."

Angela shook her head at Jeff. "I had planned for you to help make cookies tonight."

"Mom, this is important! Really important!"

Anakin tried to defuse the situation with a compromise. "Why don't we do both? We can make… cookies… first, and watch the "movies" afterwards."

"Yes, you could," said Angela, "As long as you don't stay up too late; we have church tomorrow."

Anakin groaned mentally, suspecting another car ride, and reflecting that there was a reason that _Obi-wan_, not he, was called "The Negotiator"!

In the end, however, they ended up implementing Anakin's suggestion. Steve was excused to watch "the game" on something called a Tee Vee, and Jeff, Jamie and Anakin assembled in the kitchen to await assignments from Angela.

"Jeff, preheat the oven and get out cookie sheets. Jamie, you measure the dry ingredients. I'll cream the butter and sugar. Anakin" – she paused, not sure what task to assign him. "Hmmm. You can put in the eggs when it's time."

Anakin watched with interest as the mother and children went about their tasks, Jeff rolling his eyes in mild irritation as he pulled wire grids and flat sheets of metal out of cupboards. Jamie enthusiastically scooped different powders into a bowl. Angela briskly pulled out some sort of machine that had a place for a big bowl to fit into. She put some cream-colored square sticks into the bowl and added some sparkling white powder, then switched it on, and a funny-looking triangular thing with a bunch of holes in it spun really fast, breaking down the sticks and the powder into… well, mush.

"All right, Anakin, do you want to put the eggs in now?" She handed him a papery carton. "We need three."

Anakin opened the carton and took a look. It was full of round white oval objects which he felt certain were eggs. He picked one out and dropped it into the bowl.

"No, no!" Jamie, who was watching him, laughed. "Not like that! You're supposed to take the shell off! Here, like this!"

She reached into the bowl and pulled out the egg, then hit it firmly on the rim of the bowl. Then she put her fingers into the crack she had made and pulled gently on both sides of the crack until the viscous, syrupy, clear and yellow inside flowed into the bowl. "Now, you do the next one," she said.

Anakin removed another egg from the carton and rapped it tenatively on the rim of the bowl. Nothing happened. He tried again, a little harder; still nothing happened. He tried once more, this time using a considerable amount of force. The eggshell broke completely in two and the inside part went _splat!_ in a slimy mess on the counter. "Whoops," said Anakin sheepishly.

"That's okay, try again," said Jamie, grabbing a flimsi towel and wiping up the egg mess.

Anakin took a deep breath, selected another egg, and hit it on the rim of the bowl, somewhat gentler this time. The egg cracked properly, but in trying to get it to drain it's contents into the bowl, he got his hands covered in slimy goo.

"Ugghh" he thought as he washed his hands, then turned around to the bowl again. This time, when he cracked the egg, the crack in the shell was extremely tiny, so Anakin pulled hard with his fingers. The egg suddenly yielded to his pressure, and the shell flew open, flinging drips of egg everywhere, especially down his leather sash.

Jamie crowed with laughter as she handed Anakin a flimsy towel to wipe the egg off. "Maybe I should do the eggs," she giggled.

And so it was that Anakin ended up mostly just watching the others make the cookies – though he did find the process interesting. He got to try one of the cookies; it was warm and sweet and_ not mushy_, which Anakin thought was cause for secret celebration.

By the time they finished baking and cleaning up the kitchen, it was, as Angela had predicted it would be, too late to begin any "movies;" they all simply went off to bed. Anakin lay on the couch and reflected on the new experiences he had had that day, and ended up dreaming that he was being attacked by droids who, instead of firing blaster bolts, were firing raw eggs at him. He tried to block them with his lightsaber, but the saber simply cut them in two and the two halves continued coming at him and splattered on his forehead until he just gave up and let them hit him – splat, splat, splat.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Star Wars **(Except for four calendars, three lightsabers, and two posters.)

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Anakin was awakened from fitful sleep by the sound of people rushing back and forth through the hallway. He remembered that Angela had mentioned that they had somewhere to go today – church, she had called it. He sat up on the couch, but his head was immediately run over by a large but invisible starship.

Upon closer consideration, Anakin realized that he had not, after all, been hit by any starships; he simply had a very bad headache. He surmised that it was probably from dreaming about being hit in the head with eggs all night. Anakin had had a lot of weird dreams, but that one had to belong up near the top of the list.

Groaning softly and rubbing his head, he rose and stumbled down the hall to the refresher. He felt like he'd spent a little too much time at some tavern the night before, but he hadn't; he'd spent the night baking cookies and having really weird dreams about evil egg-shooting battle droids. He gazed through half-lidded eyes at his reflection in the mirror, noting the dark circles under his eyes.

He splashed water on his face, which did little except help his eyes to open slightly wider. He decided to go and find out from Steve or Angela what was going on. As he left the refresher, he began to feel cold; a wave of shivers swept over him. By the time he found Angela, his teeth were chattering.

"Good morning!" she greeted cheerfully. "How are you, besides cold?"

"I'm f-fine, how are" – Anakin stopped in embarrassment as his voice came out sounding gravelly, husky, and barely audible. He cleared his throat and tried again, with results that were only slightly better.

"I'm s-sorry," he apologized, his voice a scratchy whisper. "I can't s-seem to t-talk right this morning."

"Sounds like you're congested. I wish I had a hot breakfast ready, but we're in a bit of a hurry. We're all getting ready for church, you see, so I just planned to have cold cereal for breakfast."

"That's okay," whispered Anakin. She poured some tiny, flat things that looked like they were made from grain of some sort from a box into a bowl, then poured white milk over it. She handed Anakin the bowl and a spoon. He dipped out a spoonful of milk and sipped it off the spoon. But swallowing the cold liquid hurt his scratchy throat as it went down, and he didn't feel very hungry – at least not hungry enough to make eating worth the pain it caused. He stirred it around for a while, then took another bite, only to discover that the cereal and the milk had combined while sitting in the bowl, being stirred by him, and had now collectively become:

Mush!

Angela, who had busied herself with other things, turned around and saw him staring dismally at his bowl of soggy cereal.

"Why, Anakin, you're not eating! Aren't you hungry?"

"Not really," he said, pushing his bowl away. "But thanks anyway."

What he really wanted was to go back to the couch and lie down under the blankets, but he tried not to let on; he didn't want to spoil his kind hostess's plans for the day.

"You really should eat something; our church service lasts right through until noon. You'll be hungry then! Would you like a banana or something?"

Anakin shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. It was getting harder and harder to hide his weariness. How could he be so tired? He'd spent most of yesterday sleeping! Yet here he was, fighting the urge to lay his aching head down on the table and sleep right there!

Angela watched him for a moment. "You certainly aren't very energetic this morning, are you?" she said, a suspicious tone creeping into her voice.

Anakin no longer had the energy to even shake his head; it felt too heavy. His arms and legs were beginning to ache as well, as though the effort of getting up had been too much for them. Or maybe it was just his skin that ached, from contracting in the cold…

He swallowed painfully and summoned his strength to reply, "I guess not," in a weak, gravelly voice. He coughed and tried to clear his throat, all it accomplished was making his throat hurt worse and add a tight, painful-itchy feeling in his chest. He felt groggy, and there seemed to be a hot sort of pressure building up in his head, especially by his ears. He felt his eyelids droop even further, and out of the fog, Angela's voice asked him,

"Anakin? Are you feeling alright? Does your stomach hurt?"

No, but everything else did. "N-no," he managed weakly, through chattering teeth.

" 'No' to which one?" she asked, sounding slightly amused.

"Both" was his simple, energy-conserving response.

"What's wrong?" Angela said, her amusement replaced by concern.

Anakin took a deep, painful breath. "Everything hurts and I feel cold and tired." He exhaled, exhausted by his long speech. Through his half-lidded eyes, he saw Angela coming over to him as she asked, "Where does it hurt?"

Anakin prepared for another long recitation. "My head, my arms and legs, my chest, and my throat when I swallow."

"It sounds like you might be coming down with a bad cold or the flu," she said, pressing a cool hand to Anakin's forehead; her cold touch sent a new set of shivers through his body and caused his skin to ache even more.

"Goodness gracious, you're burning up!" Angela exclaimed, pulling her hand away. "Why didn't you tell me you didn't feel well? I nearly was going to drag you out into this cold weather and have you sit through a church service with a – let me take your temperature and see just how bad your fever is!"

She ran off somewhere; Anakin rested his elbow on the table and leaned his head on his hand. She returned, carrying what he recognized as a thermometer, then took his temperature. "102 degrees Fahrenheit!' she exclaimed almost indignantly upon reading the measurement. "And to think you would have let me take you outside like that! You are much too sick to go anywhere today! Come, you should be back in bed, resting."

She practically dragged Anakin out of the chair and back into the living room.

"I was worried that this might happen," she said. "When you showed up here, all wet and cold and worn out, I just knew you had to have gotten a terrible chill!"

She sat him down on the couch and draped a blanket around his shoulders. She left the room again, then returned quickly with a glass of water, a box of flimsi-like facial tissue, and a small plastic jar. She placed the tissue box on the end table and handed Anakin the water and two pills from inside the jar. "Swallow these," she commandingly. When he looked questioningly at her, she explained, "They'll make your fever go down and take some of the pain away." She then stood still and watched, waiting for him to take the medicine.

Anakin tried to gulp it down, but one of the pills got briefly stuck in his swollen throat, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Then Angela made him lie back down on the couch and heaped blankets over his shivering frame.

"Try to get some sleep," she said, a little more gently this time. "When you're not sleeping, drink water. Let me know if you need anything." She then went off somewhere down the hall.

Anakin groaned inwardly. He was having a terrible time of it! First running out of fuel and not being able to get any more, then that long walk and nearly freezing to death, then mushy food, carsickness, an ice show, and evil uncooperative raw eggs! And now he was not only on a foreign planet but in a whole other galaxy then his own, staying in the home of a complete stranger, and he was sick!

He huddled miserably under the blankets, pitying himself immensely. He had nearly fallen asleep when he was brought back to consciousness by a loud voice – Angela's – shouting out, "Kids! Get in the car! It's time to go!"

Jamie shuffled down the hall past the living room doorway in a coat, a dress, and fancy shoes, staring at Anakin as she went by. A moment later, Jeff appeared. He walked over to the couch and stood over Anakin, saying awkwardly, "Gosh, man, I'm sorry you're sick." He turned away and walked out to the car, and the house fell quiet. Without the constant noise and bustle, Anakin quickly fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Star Wars **(Except for four calendars, three lightsabers, two posters, and a plastic Darth Vader M&M in a fir tree)

Ironically enough, I have come down with a cold or something that may subtract from my writing time for the next several days.

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Anakin was awakened by the unpleasant sensation of being unable to breathe. He sat up quickly, gasping for air, grabbing for a tissue and attempting to clear his nose. He tried to clear his throat as well, and ended up causing a terrible coughing fit that left him completely exhausted. Angela came running.

"Oh, dear! Anakin, you sound awful!"

"I _feel_ awful!" he groaned. "Before, everything hurt really bad. Now, it all hurts just a little bit, but I can't breathe!"

"You need a decongestant," said Angela decisively. She left the room, then returned with a glass of some kind of juice and some more pills. She handed them to Anakin, who swallowed them, not without difficulty.

"Drink all of the juice," she instructed. "Your body needs fluids, and this kind of juice has lots of vitamin C in it to help boost your immune system, which needs all the help it can get right now. Between that awful chill you got and the fact that you're in a different galaxy, it's no surprise that you came down with something; your body has probably never experienced this particular virus before, and was unable to defend itself."

Anakin sipped at the tangy, golden-orange liquid. "I'm sorry", he said softly, his voice crackling from the congestion.

"Sorry for what?" asked Angela, perplexed.

"Sorry that you're having to stay home and take care of me. Sorry for the inconvenience I've been and will be until my Master returns with some fuel."

"Oh, you're no inconvenience," she replied sympathetically. "I'm just sorry that you aren't feeling well."

Anakin finished the juice and handed the cup back to Angela. "Thank you," he said.

She smiled and patted his pillow. "You should try to go back to sleep now. The more rest you get, the better off you'll be."

She left the room, and Anakin lay back down, but he was simply too uncomfortable to sleep. He had to sit up and blow his nose literally every ten seconds, and his head was beginning to throb again. He finally managed to doze off from pure exhaustion, but he slept fitfully, half-wakened often by a recurring feverish dream.

In the dream, he was running from someone – Chancellor Palpatine, of all people! Palpatine was chasing him all over the galaxy, carrying a large, black, shiny helmet and mask, which he was continually trying to force onto Anakin's head. Anakin didn't want it on, so he ran – sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but always staying out of reach. Once, he stopped and Palpatine nearly caught up with him, but he ran on just in time. In his dream, he was using the Force to help guide him away from Palpatine. He ran from planet to planet, sometimes accompanied by Obi-wan, sometimes not. Finally, he found he was running through Jeff's house; Jeff was there, screaming, "Anakin! Anakin! You have to see this! It's the only way!"

Then the dream burst like a bubble, and Anakin woke to find himself back in the living room of Jeff's house. If the extra commotion was any indication, Steve and his children had just returned home from "church."

Anakin's suspicions were confirmed a few minutes later when Jeff stopped in to say, "Hey man, feeling any better?"

"Maybe a little," said Anakin. His head still felt pretty achy and clogged, and his throat was still sore. He didn't feel as feverish, though, and his limbs didn't ache as much.

"Mom made chicken noodle soup for lunch. That's supposed to make people better. I'm gonna go change out of these fancy clothes now." Jeff turned and left.

Almost immediately after, Angela came in. "Anakin, we're having chicken noodle soup for lunch. Do you feel well enough to come to the table with the rest of us, or would you rather eat out here?"

"I think I'm strong enough to eat at the table, if that's all right with you," said Anakin. "I wouldn't want to make the rest of you sick."

Angela laughed. "I think we're all immune to it by now. Jeff or Jamie probably brought it home from school, and you caught it from being exposed to their germs. But come now. Will you be warm enough?"

Anakin stood up and shivered just a little. "Maybe I'll put my robe on," he said. "That should keep me warm." Angela nodded and went to get it for him.

The family all sat down at the table to steaming bowls of soup.

What a surprise – more mushy food. And rather salty mushy food, at that! Still, it warmed him, and it felt good on his throat, so he decided to keep eating, even though he didn't feel hungry. Unfortunately, the hot soup also loosened Anakin's congestion, causing his nose to drip like a faucet, so that he was constantly having to get up and grab a tissue.

"So, Mom," Jeff said, "can we watch Star Wars tonight? Anakin really needs to see them, especially the first three."

"We'll see how Anakin's feeling, Jeff. Maybe later tonight, after he's rested a little more."

Jeff looked frustrated, but didn't argue.

By the time he finished eating, Anakin was getting a little tired, and he didn't argue when Angela suggested he take another nap. He slept most of the afternoon away, and when he woke again, it was getting dark.

Angela was there just minutes after he got up, pressing a cup of hot tea into his hands.

"Drink this; it'll help your sore throat and congestion."

Anakin obeyed, even though he didn't really much care for tea. It took him until dinnertime to finish it, but Angela was right; it did help.

Dinner was something called "meat loaf," which appeared to be exactly what it sounded like, and "mashed potatoes," which were definitely mashed. It was all mushy to some extent, although the meatloaf had more texture than anything else he'd tried since coming to the planet. Anakin was really beginning to grow desperate for something he could chew.

When Angela offered pudding for dessert, he said, "No, thanks." He knew what pudding was, and chewy was exactly what it was not!

After supper, Jeff begged Angela once again,

"Can we pleeease watch Star Wars now?"

Angela looked dubious for a minute. "Oh, all right, but only one. Anakin needs his rest, and you have school tomorrow."

Jeff made a face, but brightened almost immediately. "C'mon!" he yelled, practically dragging Anakin back into the living room.

Once there, Anakin sat down on the couch while Jeff pulled out a small, thin, flat box. Across the front, in Basic lettering, were the words "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace." Of greater interest to Anakin, however, was the brilliantly colored two-dimensional picture of his nine-year-old self, along with pictures of a Padawan Obi-wan and his Master Qui-gon!

Before he could ask for a closer look, Jeff opened the doors of a tall wooden cabinet to reveal a large black box with what might have been a window in the middle of the side that faced Anakin.

Jeff pushed a button on the frame of the box, and suddenly there were tiny people inside the box – Anakin could see them through the window! They were all smiling and eating some kind of pink mushy stuff out little cups that said "DANNON" on them in Basic letters, confirming Anakin's belief that all food on this planet was mushy. Jeff pushed another button on a different box, and Anakin could hear what the people inside were saying! He didn't pay any attention to it, though, because he had just figured out what the "box" with the window really was.

"Hey! I saw one of those on Coruscant! It was in the museum!"

Too late, Anakin realized how tactless that had sounded. To his relief, however, Jeff didn't seem to take offense. He simply replied,

"Yeah, we don't have 3-D yet here. Not in every home, anyway. But, at least the picture's in color!"

Jeff opened the small, thin box and pulled out a large, old-fashioned disk, which he put into a little drawer that popped out from a medium-sized box toward the back of the cabinet. When he closed the drawer and pushed another button, the screen went blue for a few seconds, then was taken over by a picture of Tatooine!

Jeff then sat on the couch next to Anakin and controlled the thing by a remote. After a few more buttons, the screen went black, and blue letters appeared on it. Jeff began to read the words out loud.

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…"

Suddenly, Anakin understood what Jeff had been talking about! He chuckled – and then coughed. Angela came rushing in, carrying a cup of water. She handed it to Anakin and draped a blanket over his shoulders. "Keep warm," she whispered, then went to sit in the back corner of the room.

Suddenly, Anakin was nearly startled off the couch by a loud fanfare. Then to the accompaniment of triumphant, upbeat, marching music, Basic words scrolled down the screen. Jeff continued reading them aloud.

" Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. Taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute. Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo. While the Congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict…"

Anakin watched in wonder as Qui-gon and Obi-wan, who was still Qui-gon's Padawan at the time, attempted to negotiate with the leaders of the Trade Federation. Before Anakin's eyes, the events that led the two Jedi to Tatooine were replayed. He saw himself at the age of nine, meeting Padmé for the first time in Watto's shop; he chuckled over his own question: "Are you an angel?" When he caught the first recorded glimpse of his mother, his eyes filled with tears. Oh, how he loved her and missed her! Even through the screen of the technologically backward television, he could see the love for him shining out of her eyes. He laughed at his childish antics, relived the joy and the glory of winning the Podrace, his wonder at finding himself free, with the opportunity to become a Jedi – and his grief at leaving his mother behind. He nearly broke down and wept when his nine-year-old self tearfully asked his mother, "Will I ever see you again?"

"What does your heart tell you?" his mother asked

"I don't know. Yes, I guess."

"Then it will happen."

Anakin shuddered. They had both been right; Anakin had seen her again. But the way he had seen her…

Anakin watched himself walk away from his mother, trotting along at Qui-gon's side. His melancholy mood held even through Darth Maul's surprise attack on them, and he smiled sadly when he saw himself present Padmé with the japor snippet he had carved. He saw anew his initial rejection by the Jedi Council, and resentment began to grow in his heart. He watched the battle on Naboo play out, groaning over his own childish remarks and antics. He felt his heart rejoice again when the droid control ship blew up, thanks to his randomly sewn torpedoes.

Nor did the scenes which brought to light the planning behind the entire event escape Anakin; he watched with great interest the conversations between Gunray and a hooded man called "Sidious." The man was so sinister and evil, yet there was something eerily familiar about both his image, which was seen only in hologram form, and his name, neither of which Anakin could quite place.

When the duel between Qui-gon, Obi-wan and Darth Maul began, Anakin did not recognize it and watched with great interest. He busy was analyzing their fighting styles when they reached the hallway of laser walls. That was when it occurred to Anakin that Obi-wan had spoken of such laser walls being the culprit that separated them and partially caused Qui-gon's death. He was horrified but riveted – he could not turn his head away and was forced to witness the fatal wounding of the Jedi Master. He was amazed by the skill that Obi-wan displayed in finally defeating Maul, but was nearly brought to tears again by the recording of Qui-gon's death and funeral. It was during that scene that it suddenly clicked for him. Just as Yoda spoke the words, "Two there are; no more, no less," Anakin recalled where he had heard the name "Sidious" before.

"Sidious is the name of the Sith Lord that Count Dooku said was in control of the Senate!' Anakin shouted out. "You mean he orchestrated this whole thing? It was all a setup to accomplish some purpose of his own?"

Jeff nodded.

"I suppose he was responsible for the Clone Wars, too?" said Anakin, more than a little sarcastically.

Jeff glanced back at Anakin and laughed.

Anakin's own smile returned as he watched the parade at the Naboo peace celebration. There he stood, in his brand new Jedi robes and stupid little Padawan haircut.

"No offense," commented Jeff, "but that hairdo makes your head look like a Koosh ball with a tail!"

"A what?"

Jeff ran out of the room and returned with a ball that appeared to be made from a bundle of rubber fibers sticking straight out in all directions. "This is a Koosh ball," he announced.

Anakin laughed at his analogy. "I didn't much care for the haircut, either, but I sure was proud to become a Jedi Padawan."

The recording ended, and a long list of what seemed to be names scrolled up the screen.

Anakin was amazed by the whole thing. "How did you come across recordings of all of this?" he asked.

Jeff squirmed. "Well, actually, those were people who were just pretending to be the characters from your galaxy. At least, I think they were. Now that you're here, I'm not so sure!"

Anakin shook his head. "If that is the case, they did a really good job of pretending! That's exactly the way it happened! Except they left out a few things…"

"They had to," Jeff explained. "They had to make it short enough for people to sit down and watch."

Anakin nodded, still impressed. "Well, somebody obviously knows how it happened. But how did they find it all out?"

Jeff shrugged his shoulders.

Just then, Angela reminded them that they should both be going to bed, Jeff because he had school the next day, and Anakin because of his illness.

They obeyed, but long after he had gone to bed, Anakin lay awake on the couch, precious, bittersweet memories drifting through his mind.

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I don't own DANNON or Koosh balls either.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Star Wars** (Except for five soundtracks, four calendars, three lightsabers, two posters, and a plastic Darth Vader M&M in a fir tree.)

To all readers: I really meant to give you all an update for Christmas, but it was not the will of the Force. Christmas Eve, my computer went into a coma and did not respond to anything I did to it (though it has since recovered – obviously). And on Christmas night, I did not feel very well and just went straight to sleep. I am now back, however, and plan to cause plenty of trouble around here! 

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Anakin did not remember falling asleep on his makeshift bed on the couch; he only knew that he had just awoken. The house was dark and quiet; the whole family was asleep. There was a chrono on that thing over by the television – Anakin couldn't remember what it was called—which told him it was 12:07 AM. The videorecording had ended around 9:30, and he'd spent at least an hour reviewing memories in his mind, so he couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour and a half.

He lay there for a moment or two, trying to determine what exactly it was that had wakened him, and quickly determined that it was that fact that his right nostril was entirely plugged. He got up and grabbed a tissue from the box on the end table, than blew his nose, which instantly clogged again, this time in both nostrils. He grabbed another tissue and blew his nose again, with the same results. The pressure began to build up in his head, and he realized with dismay that his medication had run out. He searched for it on the table, but could not find it and realized that Angela must have put it back where it belonged. He had no intention of waking her to find it for him, so he got up and quietly walked the house in his bare feet, hoping that the motion and a change of altitude would loosen his congestion.

It helped a little, so he continued walking, even when he began to get cold. It was only when he felt he was falling asleep on his feet that he stumbled back to the couch and collapsed onto it.

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When he woke again, the house was still dark, and he was disappointed to see that it was only a little after 2:30 – he'd slept less than half an hour!

This time, he was awakened by the fact that he was shivering; he'd simply crashed on the sofa earlier, neglecting to cover himself with any of the blankets. His nose was stuffy again, too, and he felt the pressure in his head as leaned down to pick up the blankets he had kicked off onto the floor.

He snuggled down in them, but his hands and feet were too icy cold. He lay awake for another half hour waiting for his body to get warm. Just as he began to feel comfortable, he felt the need to visit the refresher, and had to get up again.

Once he returned, he began the process of getting warm all over again, and the half hour had stretched into an hour before he finally dozed off again.

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The next time he woke, it was nearly 4:30. This time, he was awakened by the pain in his head and limbs, which he knew came from more than just his clogged head. He recognized the all-too-familiar, shivering-hot feverish feeling by now. Only this time it was worse than it had been before. His ears also began to hurt him, protesting painfully of the heat and the pressure building up inside his head.

He pulled the blankets closer around himself and tried to go back to sleep, but soon felt too hot and kicked them violently off himself – and the couch. He sighed, remembering that he had only just picked them up off the floor. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. Then he was too cold without the blankets, so he rolled off the couch and picked them up again.

His face was growing hotter by the minute, and he still wasn't comfortable enough to sleep, although he was desperately tired. Altogether so far, he had gotten only two hours of sleep, which he knew wouldn't be good for him. It was after 5:30 before he finally decided that he needed blankets on his feet and around his shoulders, but not on the rest of him, and he needed to lie on his back with his knees slightly bent and his head turned to one side so he could breathe out of half of his nose.

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Less than a half an hour after he had fallen asleep in that position, Anakin was awakened by an obnoxious beeping noise. He found that his face and insides still felt hot, but his skin felt achy and cold. His limbs and his head still ached, too, but his ears had grown even more painful than before. In addition to his already numerous sources of pain was his neck, which ached from the strange position in which he had been sleeping. The congestion in his head and in his chest were still there, too; all factors combined, he was downright miserable.

And now the members of the family were waking up, a beeping noise bringing each one out of the depths of slumber.

Anakin groaned and turned his face into the pillow when the lights began to go on. He quickly sat up again, however, to catch his running nose with a tissue. He sneezed loudly and painfully, then sniffled and lay back down, flat on his back. This caused his sinuses to drain into his throat, triggering a coughing fit.

Angela, still in her bathrobe and slippers, came into the room to check on him.

"Anakin, are you all right?" she asked, sounding very concerned.

One look at his flushed face told her he was not. She rushed to his side, placing a hand on his forehead, then whipped out her thermometer, which registered a startling 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

She literally ran from the room and returned with another glass of the golden- orange juice and the medicine he needed badly. He swallowed it as quickly as he could, eager for the relief to kick in. Steve was up and about, and he popped in to see what was going on. Angela helped Anakin to lie back down on the couch and covered him with blankets before telling her husband,

"Steve, he's really, really sick. We may need to take him to the doctor."

Steve did not look thrilled. "Oh, that'll be interesting!" he said, a bit sarcastically. "Have them notice he's not on our insurance plan and ask who he is, try to tell them he's Anakin Skywalker! They'll never believe it; I mean, I think it's safe to assume they have little experience treating sick Star Wars characters!"

Anakin just tried not to moan.

Angela looked desperately at her husband. "We'll dress him in modern clothes and say he's a friend who was staying over. I'll just take him to the walk-in clinic."

Steve agreed, though somewhat reluctantly, then went back to getting ready for work.

Angela followed him from the room, and through the strange, high-pitched buzzing in his ears, he heard her telling them,

"Jeff, Jamie, you guys need to make sure you get on the bus when it comes. I won't be able to walk you to the stop this morning, I need to take Anakin to the doctor. He is not doing well at all. You guys know where the cereal is; have that for breakfast…" she gave them a few further instructions before rushing into the room where Anakin lay in misery on the sofa. She had a set of clothes in her hands. Gently, she raised Anakin to a sitting position.

"I know you must feel horrible, but you need to change into these. I'm going to take you to the doctor so he can help get you well again." She helped Anakin to his feet, then guided him toward the refresher. The floor rocked beneath him and the room seemed to be spinning, but he somehow managed to struggle out of his own clothes and into the ones she had given him. When he opened the refresher door, she was there to help him back onto the couch. She made him lie down, then covered his face with a towel. She placed something cool and heavy on top of his forehead, then folded back the towel so it no longer covered his entire face.

Anakin didn't protest; he wouldn't have had the strength.

Angela bustled about, gathering a few more things, then made him sit up again. She put his boots on his feet and wrapped him in a heavy coat that must have belonged to Steve. Then, blankets and cold pack in tow, she led him out to the already-warming car and settled him in the passenger's seat, which she had reclined. She told him to hold the ice pack on his head as she drove off.

Anakin dozed in the vehicle as it carried them to wherever it was they were going. When they stopped, Angela woke him and dragged him into a large building, through several hallways, and into a big, bright, warm room with lots of chairs. She sat Anakin down in one of these, and went up to a big desk near the front of the room. Anakin could hear her arguing with someone, but he was too dazed to understand what was going on and too miserable to care.

Finally Angela came and sat down beside Anakin, and they waited. And waited. And waited some more.

When someone finally came to the door and called for them, Anakin was more than half asleep in the chair. They went to another, smaller room, and a nurse weighed Anakin and took his temperature. Her eyes widened.

"The doctor will be right with you," she said, hurrying from the room.

She was right. The doctor appeared shortly afterwards. He listened to Anakin's chest and asked him questions about the amount of pain he was in and where it was coming from. Anakin, completely bewildered by the whole process, answered as best he could.

The doctor finally diagnosed it as a common, if severe, viral infection and advised a bacterial vitamin supplement to combat the virus. He also gave Anakin a dose of a stronger fever reducer right there in the examination room and gave a few extra capsules to Angela, telling them to come back if Anakin's fever wasn't down by afternoon.

With that, the ordeal was over, and Angela bundled Anakin back into the car. Once again, he slept through the ride home. When they got there, Angela woke Anakin again and helped him into a quiet, deserted house. She gave him the medicine the doctor had suggested, which she had apparently picked up on the way home, then made Anakin comfortable on the couch and placed another ice pack on his forehead.

Anakin felt so awful that he was certain that he was going to die, so he began thinking through what he wanted his last words to be. He wanted to thank this family who had cared for him, as well as sending his regards to Obi-wan. In his condition, he couldn't really think of anything else, so he started in, before it was too late.

"Thanks," was as far as he got before he drifted back off to sleep again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Star Wars **(except for six DVDs, five soundtracks, four calendars, three lightsabers, two posters, and a plastic Darth Vader M&M in a fir tree.)

Reviews make me happy! Even the bad ones! (At least they're something to read.) Seriously, tell me what you think about this one, as long as you can do it without using swear words. If you hate it and think it's the worst thing you've ever read in your life, great! If you like it, even better!

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Anakin awoke, but did not open his eyes. In the initial bewilderment of waking, he thought he might be dead, but his more rational side told him that if that were the case, his nose wouldn't be so stuffed up.

His tongue and throat felt parched because he had been breathing through his mouth for so long, and he eventually decided that, since he most likely wasn't dead, he might as well get a drink of water. He reluctantly opened his eyes and struggled to sit up, but he felt rather light-headed and just lazily collapsed back against the pillow. He remembered there being a glass of water on the end table, so he rolled onto his side and searched for it with his hand.

He found it all right – but only after he had inadvertently knocked it to the floor. Fortunately, it had been mostly empty already. Now, however, he had to get himself some more water somehow. He considered trying to get up again, but didn't feel particularly energetic.

Luck was with him; Angela had heard the noise he made when he knocked over the glass and came to check on him.

"Are you feeling any better?" she asked.

He hadn't really considered the question; it hadn't even crossed his mind. Was he feeling better? Yes, he decided. He wasn't in nearly so much pain, and his body seemed to be a much more normal temperature.

"I… think so," he said thickly, his dry tongue sticking to the inside of his dry mouth. "I'm really thirsty, though."

"Apparently," said Angela, with a bit of a smile, as she picked up the fallen glass. "Fortunately, we have, in this galaxy, a marvelous substance called water, which can be drunk as well as thrown on the floor, and has been known to quench thirst."

"I'm sorry," said Anakin contritely, apologizing for knocking his glass on the floor.

Angela laughed. "It's all right, I was just teasing you a little. And it wasn't your fault; you've been asleep for almost six hours; I would imagine you're a little bit out of it right now. Besides, you were in pretty rough shape this morning; I wouldn't expect you to be back to normal already. But I'll go and get you some water now," she said and was gone.

By the time Angela returned with the water, Anakin had managed to work himself into something that resembled a sitting position. He gulped the water thirstily.

"Thanks," he breathed, handing back an empty glass. She went to get him some more. When she came back, she also brought another jar of pills.

"These are vitamin C pills," she told him. "They'll help boost your immune system so your body can fight off this virus. I don't know why I didn't think of them earlier, but I certainly should have – you could have been nearly better by now. Of course, it wouldn't have hurt if I had paid netter attention and not let your Tylenol and decongestant run out last night…"

"It's okay," said Anakin awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say. "I appreciate your taking care of me."

Angela smiled. "Why don't you take one of these vitamins and then try to go back to sleep now? Rest is important to getting you better. If you're well enough when Jeff gets home, maybe you and he can watch another Star Wars movie."

With that hope in mind, Anakin obediently swallowed his vitamin pill and settled back down to sleep some more.

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He slept most of the day, only waking up for a few minutes at a time until Jeff came home from school.

"Dude, I can't believe my mom made me go to school with you here!" the teenager moaned. "I am so glad Christmas vacation starts in two days."

"It's okay, you didn't miss much," said Anakin groggily from where he lay on the couch. He still felt half-asleep.

Angela burst into the room, interrupting them. "Jeff! Leave Anakin alone and go do your homework! If you get it done quickly, you and he can have an early supper, and after Anakin rests some more, you guys can watch another Star Wars."

Jeff quickly dashed off to begin his homework, and Anakin allowed himself to zone out, drifting in and out of sleep until a shout brought him back to reality.

"Mom! I'm done! Can we watch Star Wars now?"

Anakin heard Angela answer her son, saying, "Wait until Anakin wakes up, and then, only if he feels up to it."

Anakin grinned, feeling more awake already. He was going to watch another Star Wars! Gingerly, he tried sitting up on the couch. It didn't make him dizzy, as it had before. He was trying to figure out how to attract their attention, short of knocking something on the floor again, when Jeff came rushing in, undoubtedly checking to see if he was awake yet.

"Mom! He's awake!" Jeff yelled from the doorway where he stood. Then he addressed Anakin. "Hi," he said in a softer tone.

Anakin smiled a little. "Hi," he said back. "Ummm… how was…. school?"

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Boring. Are you ready to watch the next Star Wars now?"

"I think so. I've been looking forward to it all day. I'm tired of sleeping."

Jeff laughed at his statement as Angela came in.

"Anakin, how are you feeling?" she asked, going over to him and feeling his forehead. "You seem better, anyway."

"I feel better," he declared. "I think I'm done sleeping for a while."

"Well, then," she said with a smile, "you and Jeff can watch another Star Wars movie and have an early supper. Jeff, you start the movie, and I'll bring you guys something."

"Something" turned out to be chicken noodle soup again. Though Anakin had no appetite, especially for anything non-chewy, he ate it because Angela had told him it was "good for him" and he knew if he refused food she would bug him about it until he gave in and ate it anyway. Once again, the hot soup made Anakin's nose run, and before long, it was so stuffed up he couldn't even talk properly.

"Ogay, whed is this… bovie… gudda start?" Anakin couldn't help but laugh huskily at the sound of his own voice.

Jeff looked confused, then laughed as well. "I guess maybe we'll get farther if I push 'play', huh?" he said, picking up the remote.

Again, the screen went black; then the words, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…" appeared once more. Once again, Anakin jumped at the first note of what he began to surmise must be the "theme song" of the series. One again, the introductory "Star Wars" title was followed by a description of the time frame in which the "story" was to take place. Anakin was surprised when he realized it was just before the Clone Wars began – only two and a half years ago for him!

Jamie came into the room. "Ughh! Mom, why does Jeff always get the TV? I wanna watch something else!"

"Jamie, leave your brother and Anakin alone."

"But, Mom! It's not fair! They got to watch their thing last night, too!"

Angela sighed. "All right, Jamie, you get to choose what we watch tomorrow night. For tonight, you can either join us – without complaining – or go somewhere else."

Jamie heaved a great sigh and plopped down on the floor.

Jeff glared at her. "Thanks," he said sarcastically, "Now we have to go back so Anakin can hear the part that you whined through." He took the recording back to the spot that had been playing when Jamie came in.

As Anakin watched, memories came flooding back to him: the footage of Padmé's ship exploding on the landing platform, receiving their assignment from the Council to protect her, how nervous he had been. He blushed at the sight of himself, still a Padawan learner, complete with ridiculous braid and ponytail, trying to hide his nervousness from his all-too-perceptive Master. He laughed at his ludicrous attempts to compliment Padmé in a way appropriate for a Jedi Padawan. Now that he was married to her, it was easy to laugh at his not-so-subtle attempts to attract her attention.

"I cadt believe I said that! I soudded so dubb!" he exclaimed through his stuffed-up nose.

Jamie smirked at him. "Yeah? Well, you sound pretty dumb to me right now!" This comment earned her an indignant "Jamie!" from Angela.

Anakin wondered what he had ever done to her to deserve this torment. Nevertheless, he decided to be gracious and diplomatic. Thinking of what Obi-wan would do, he replied, "That's ogay. I soud bretty dubb to byself right dow, too."

Anakin greatly enjoyed the recording of himself and Obi-wan chasing Zam Wesell through the Coruscant traffic. How he had loved tormenting Obi-wan! He remembered that, on that particular occasion, he had managed to make _both_ of them feel a little queasy! He wasn't really sure that was something to be proud of, but he guessed it was an accomplishment of sorts; not just anyone could do it!

He laughed at Obi-wan's dismay at his jumping form the speeder. Why was he upset? Hadn't he been the one, who, only minutes before, had jumped through the window hundreds of stories above the planet's derelict surface with only a tiny droid to cling to for support?

Anakin was very interested when the recording showed his Master's work in discovering the assassin who had tried to take Padmé's life. He saw how the trail faint as it was, lead to Kamino and the mysteries surrounding the events there.

When the recording went back to Anakin's side of the story – well, his and Padmé's, it was almost like it was all happening again. The emotional high of his young love for her lifted him until his spirits truly did walk the sky.

They were brought down with an unceremonious thud when, displayed across the screen for any and all to see, was a recording of him standing with the famous Senator on the veranda at the lake retreat. _Kissing her._

"How the"— Anakin swallowed the Huttese word that came to his mind before in reached his lips – " How id the _worlds_ did they get a recordig of _that?!"_ he exclaimed, horrified. If people in another galaxy could get it, then Obi-wan and the rest of the Council probably could, too! That would be… disastrous!

He couldn't believe that both he and Padmé had been so oblivious to their surroundings that they wouldn't have noticed someone recording them. Good grief! Judging by the angle of the recording, the person taking it must have been hovering in the air over the lake! He felt sure one of them would have noticed _that_.

Jeff looked over at him in amusement. "Don't worry, we won't show Obi-wan. What happens on Naboo, stays on Naboo. And Obi-wan is about to be too busy hunting for assassins to go looking for this himself."

It was true; the recording suddenly cut back over to Obi-wan's investigation of the situation on Kamino. Anakin breathed a sigh of relief.

His emotions and memories didn't have much time to relax, however. There were plenty of other memories from that time to be relived, and not all of them were good. The next thing he knew, he was watching himself struggle through a nightmare about his mother. The pain came flooding back just as quickly as the joy had – particularly when he remembered the outcome of the dreams. He had a sudden horrible thought. What if –

Anakin was distracted by yet another shift of focus. He began to enjoy the recording once again as he watched his Master battling the bounty hunter, Jango Fett. He was amused at some of the tricks each of them pulled. He laughed out loud when Obi-wan threw Jango off the landing platform, before realizing that he and the bounty hunter were tied together! He stored that one away to use as blackmail later.

After a shot of him and Padmé arriving on Tatooine, he was treated to another delightful spectacle – that of his Master flying for his life from the infamous Fett and his rather sadistic cloned son. He howled when Obi-wan exclaimed "Blast! This is why I hate flying!"

He quickly sobered, however, when the story returned to his visit to the Lars homestead. Anakin was growing nervous. He didn't at all like how close they were getting to some very painful events in his life. Tears came to his eyes, when he watched Cliegg explain to his recorded self how the Tusken Raiders had taken his mother. His tension grew as he saw himself take off across the desert on his borrowed speeder bike. He became truly alarmed when he overheard Angela whisper to Jeff, "Are you sure it's the best idea to have him see this? Especially since he's not feeling well."

"How do you know, Mom?"

"I've seen this movie before, and I haven't forgotten everything that happens in it. I know what's coming next."

"Just trust me, Mom. He has to see it. He has to understand that we know _everything._"

Apprehension filled Anakin when the recording showed the Tusken camp. He watched in horror, unable to move or speak, as he cut his way into the Tusken ut and saw his mother. Tears filled his eyes, and his nose suddenly became unclogged. He reached for the tissues, weeping silently as he was forced to watch his mother's life ebb away for the second time in his life.

And then it began. He saw himself rise, eyes filled with hate and vengeance, and cut down the guards outside the door of the hut. The recording mercifully spared the family any further details, but Anakin knew it all, and he bowed his head in shame. He sat, completely oblivious to the recording, until it showed his confession to Padmé. This only increased Anakin's shame and disgrace. He hated to have his hosts see what he had done.

How, how, had this been recorded? There couldn't have been anyone there: he had left none alive! And this recording! It left out so many things, but of all the things it included, it had to be this! Yet Anakin knew it was his own fault; had he not done these things, then there could be no recording of them.

The rest of the recording passed by in a blur; Anakin was too emotionally distracted to make any sense out of the rest of it. He only dimly remembered his pain and anger at the loss of his arm, and he could not even manage a small smile at the scene of his marriage.

Then it was over. The family sat in silence. Having Anakin there in the room made the story much more powerful and serious.

Jamie was the first to speak. "Did you really do all of that stuff?" she asked, her eyes wide. Anakin shut his eyes, hung his head, and nodded slightly.

"Wow." Her tone was perfectly neutral. Without another word, she got up and left the room. Silence reigned once more. This time, it was Anakin who broke it.

"So," he said his voice thick with emotion. "Now you know."

Angela looked him straight in the eye. With a slight, pitying smile, she said, "Anakin. We've all seen this before. We knew when you showed up on our doorstep and decided to take you in until your Master returns." She came over and patted him gently on the shoulder. "Now, I think you should take your medicine and go to sleep for the night. You've had a lot of hard stuff to think about, and your body needs rest. We want you all better when your Master comes for you!"

Jeff left the room, and Anakin took the medicine as instructed. Angela was, if anything, kinder and more motherly than usual as she helped him get settled on the sofa. Anakin wondered how these people could accept him, knowing the horrible things he'd done. Not even the Jedi would do that!

He didn't think he would be able to sleep at all, his mind was so overwhelmed with the reliving of those painful memories, but his illness and his emotional exhaustion caught up with him. He quickly drifted off into a deep and mercifully dreamless sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. **(Except for six – no, seven – no, eight novels, five soundtracks, four calendars, three lightsabers, two posters, and a Darth Vader M&M in a fir tree.)

I apologize in advance to any HSM2 fans.

Thanks to those who reviewed – especially those who have been faithfully reviewing each chapter. Sorry for the shortness of this one, but it was all I could manage in one night.

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When Anakin awoke the next morning, he felt much better physically than he had in the last several days. No headache, no achy limbs, no sore throat, no fever – well, almost none anyway. He had some lingering congestion, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been.

If only his mind felt as good as his body. He was still hurting over the issues that had been resurrected last night, and he realized that he was finally going to have to think them through, to deal with them in some way.

Luckily, he had plenty of time for thinking over serious issues. Despite the fact that he felt all right physically, Angela insisted that he take it easy – "easy" being defined as lying on the couch all day, the same as he had been doing for the last several days. Due to his residual congestion and low fever, Angela was convinced that if he didn't sleep all day, drink at least one glass of water every hour, and remain on a steady diet of chicken noodle soup, he would certainly relapse. Anakin didn't feel he was in any position to argue with her, so he kept his mouth shut and did as he was told.

The highlight of his day was taking a long, hot shower. It relaxed his muscles and loosened his congestion and just made him feel better about everything in general. He felt good enough afterwards that he just didn't want to bring his spirits low again by tackling the difficult memories that troubled his spirit, so he shoved them into a dark corner of his mind, just as he had done so many times before; only this time, he knew they wouldn't stay hidden for long. He had been too shaken by what he had seen last night to forget these problems, and now he wasn't even sure he wanted to. He needed to bring resolution to the events of two and a half years ago.

But not immediately. First, he was going to try to spend at least part of the day being cheerful – or at least not depressed. He lay on the couch, staring at the kriss-muss tree and wondering if they actually had some way of making it grow in their house or if they had cut it and simply had it set up there in the corner. They'd probably cut it; it seemed unlikely that they'd have one growing inside. What if it got too big? Anakin momentarily smiled at the idea of the tree growing so tall that it pushed a hole through the ceiling, with the people who had planted it wondering why they hadn't though of that.

Anakin gazed at the glowing lights and the dazzling array of objects that had been hung from the branches, wondering at the time and effort that must have gone into setting up the display. He felt his head grow heavy, and rested it on his pillow, than allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

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When Anakin woke again, it was mid-afternoon. He knew it was time to decide how he would handle the issues from his past. Reluctantly, he brought them back out into the light. After much soul-searching, he decided that these were things he could not keep secret any longer, no matter what the consequences. After all, if this family, in an entirely different galaxy, was easily able to obtain copies of those recordings, anyone from his galaxy surely could! He sighed. He had a lot to talk with Obi-wan about when he got back.

He spent most of the rest of the afternoon brooding. Once the kids were home, Angela came in to see how he was doing. A slight smile played across her lips as she asked if he would like to join the family for dinner. He nodded, his own face sober. Angela put her hands on her hips.

"I know what will get a smile out of you," she said. She practically yanked him off the sofa and marched him over to the mirror in the refresher.

"Look," she commanded, turning him so he could see his reflection from and angle.

Anakin wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel embarrassed. He'd slept on his wet hair, and now half of it lay exactly as it was supposed to and the other half bent and stuck out at crazy angles, giving Anakin a rather ridiculous appearance. He cracked a sheepish smile and began frantically dragging his fingers through his hair, trying to make it lay down flat. Even the comb Angela offered him did little to help, and he eventually ended up dousing it with water again; that calmed it down a little.

Dinner that night was something called "cass-a-roll," a mixture of meat and vegetables in some kind of sauce. Parts of it were chewy, but it was still too mushy for Anakin's taste. He nearly refused when offered dessert – which was "ice cream," another food Anakin had never tasted before – but ended up being glad he tried it. It did have a soft texture, but its taste was sweet and creamy and cold. It was comforting, somehow.

Unfortunately, that was the last good thing that happened during the entirety of the altogether rather mediocre day. After dinner, Jamie gleefully reminded everyone that it was her turn to use the TV that night. When they left the table and filed into the living room, she rummaged through a cabinet full of old-fashioned video discs and even older-fashioned videorecordings stored in medium-sized black boxes. It was one of these that she grabbed and put into the recording playback device.

The recording turned out to be a horror story called "High School Musical 2." From beginning to end, it was a nightmarish mixture of sappy songs, weird dancing, and waaaay too much pink. Anakin hadn't thought Jamie seemed like the horror type, but she didn't even seem scared; in fact, she seemed to be enjoying it. Anakin wasn't truly frightened, either, but he certainly was disturbed.

He fell asleep that night dreaming that he was being chased by fluffy pink things that whined, "_You are the music in me_," over and over again.

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I don't own High School Musical 1 or 2 or any of the songs therein; I just like to make fun of them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Star Wars!** (And I'm done with this stupid song!)

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated; my computer had a little trouble handling the site for a day or so after the new year. In compensation, I offer a two-chapter update.

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For some reason, Anakin woke up early the next morning. Jeff and Jamie, had already left for school, but it was still earlier than he had woken up the day before. The morning light was cold and grey. Anakin looked out the window above the sofa to find that it was snowing heavily; a blanket of snow several inches thick already covered the ground and the road.

Angela came up behind him. "Oh great, it's snowing some more. I guess that means I'll have to shovel this afternoon."

Anakin looked at her curiously. "Shovel?"

"Get the snow off the driveway so it's easier to drive and walk on. It's a pain to do, though. Usually takes at least an hour."

Staring out the window at the snow, Anakin had a sudden thought. Here was a way he could repay his hosts for taking care of him!

"I'll do it," he volunteered.

Angela looked at him dubiously. "That's very kind of you, but I'm not sure you're well enough."

"I feel fine," insisted Anakin.

"We'll see about that," she said. She took his temperature, but this time Anakin was proved right. The only remaining symptom of his illness was some slight congestion.

"Oh, all right," Angela finally agreed. "If you really want to."

"Oh, I do!" said Anakin. Angela gave him a coat, hat and gloves belonging to Steve; all were too big for Anakin, but warmer for it.

"The snow shovel is in with the other tools, on the left side of the garage if you're facing out," advised Angela when Anakin was properly bundled up.

"The garage? Is that the same as your hangar?"

Angela looked taken aback, but then she smiled and nodded. "You and your flight terms," she teased.

Anakin stepped out the door and into the "garage." He quickly located the stack of tools Angela had spoken of; now he just needed to figure out which one was the snow shovel. He had no clue, so he grabbed a handle and pulled until he got something. The tool had a fan of plastoid strips emanating from its base; Anakin reasoned that it might work to sweep the snow away.

Five minutes later he gave up on it. This couldn't be the snow shovel. It wouldn't take hours to clear the driveway with this; it would take days! He tugged on another handle. This one, as a whole, looked vaguely like a giant misshapen spoon. Anakin surmised, however, that it could probably be used to scoop the snow up and carry it away, so he tried that.

It went faster, but the tool was incapable of getting all the snow – or even close to it! This one obviously wasn't a snow shovel, either. Sighing in frustration, he tried again. This time, the tool he came up with almost defied precise description. It had sort of a small metal blade at right angles to the handle; Anakin thought it looked more like a weapon than a tool. He pulled it out anyway, deciding it would work to scrape away the snow.

And it worked! Though it couldn't get all the snow, it came closer that the other two tools had been. It was also much more energy efficient. He was doing just fine until Angela came out to check on him.

She burst out laughing. "Anakin, we _shovel _snow, not hoe it! That thing you have is a hoe!"

He turned to look at her. "Well, it works. At least, better than those other tools did."

Angela observed the tools he had discarded. She pointed to the one that looked like a demented spoon. "Well, you were close with that one. That at least is a shovel – just not one intended for snow. But this one here" – she held up the tool with the fan-like end – "this is a rake. Did you really try to rake the snow?" she said, laughing harder at the thought. "Oh! I wish I'd seen that and gotten it on camera!" she exclaimed.

"I am very glad you didn't," replied Anakin glibly.

"Anyway, _this _one's the snow shovel," said Angela, holding up a tool with a wide, curved piece of plastic at the end. "You'll make much more progress if you use this. Do you need me to demonstrate?" she teased.

"No, actually, I think I can figure it out on my own!" Anakin dug the shovel into the snow. It was good to use his muscles again after lying around for so long. In a short while, he had the whole driveway cleared.

He knew his arms would most likely make him regret doing the job later; the extended period of disuse followed by sudden exercise was almost certain to make his muscles sore. He felt that the pain would be worth it, however. He felt good about getting up and doing something, especially something that gave back a little to the people who had been so kind to him.

Well, at least most of them had been kind to him. The horror recording he had been forced to view last night definitely did not fit his definition of kindness; _torture,_ perhaps, would be a more applicable label. Anakin still wasn't sure if he was more disturbed by the fact that someone had actually recorded something like that or by the fact that, since the recording he had seen was "High School Musical 2," there had to be another one out there somewhere. He shuddered at the thought.

At least tonight they would be watching "Star Wars" instead. Although Anakin wasn't sure he was eager to see that, either; the last one had been so unsettling. It had awakened something in his soul, something that he had not really wanted disturbed, and now he was being forced to deal with it. He was filled with a sense of foreboding, as if something bad was creeping up on him and he had no way to stop it.

Anakin suddenly realized that he had run out of driveway to shovel; he had been so deep in thought that he had gone on autopilot and was beginning to shovel the snow off the rest of the ground.

He walked back to the hangar and replaced the snow shovel where he had seen it before, feeling satisfied that he had done a good job. When he went inside, he was immediately attacked by Angela with a mug of hot tea, which he still didn't like but still drank anyway, because he knew Angela would absolutely insist upon it.

Then she prevailed upon him to take a nap, which he did, again because he wanted to please her. He would just lie down for half an hour, just to avoid conflict. He didn't really need a nap, he wasn't really tired, but anything for peace…

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When Anakin woke up, he was shocked to find that his short nap, taken solely to pacify Angela, had stretched from his intended half-hour to four hours. Apparently he'd been more tired than he thought.

It was early afternoon, and he was starting to feel hungry. He was trying to muster up his courage to ask for something to eat; his hosts had given him so much already that he felt really awkward about asking for more.

Fortunately, Angela had anticipated his returning appetite and had made something for him. In fact, she was quite overwhelmingly determined that he eat something.

"Anakin, lunch is ready, so come in here and eat! And don't try to tell me you're not hungry, either! Your appetite should be coming back by now, especially if you're well enough to be shoveling snow – or raking or hoeing it," she added, poking fun at him. "And even if it isn't, your need to eat something so your body begins to build up its strength!" She marched him at spoonpoint into the kitchen and made him sit down at the table. She served him a bowl of bright red soup of some kind; he wasn't sure exactly what it was called.

Soup again. Well, at least it was a different kind of soup.

And then, something wonderful happened. Angela plopped a plate down next to the bowl of soup; on the plate was a…

…Well, whatever it was didn't require a spoon to eat. Or, apparently, any other utensils, either. Anakin was overjoyed. Something that wasn't mushy!

"And you'd better eat every bite of that, young man," Angela said, still teasing him.

Anakin smiled; sometimes, Angela treated Anakin as if he were one of her own children, despite his twenty-two years.

Anakin didn't care much for the soup; it had an overly tangy, almost metallic taste. He did, however, greatly enjoy the other thing. It seemed to consist of two toasted slices of bread, with something hot and gooey inside. Anakin didn't really care what it was, though; he was just glad to have something he could chew!

After he had eaten, he took a shower again, then roamed the house waiting for his hair to dry. He walked down the hall, past what had to be Jamie's room – the bed was only large enough for one, and he couldn't imagine Jeff sleeping in a room with that much pink in it! Anakin himself was almost afraid to go inside; he could go blind from so much pink!

Then he came upon what must, by default, be Jeff's room. It didn't have a speck of pink in it. The walls had large pictures of some things he didn't recognize and some groups of people with what looked like musical instruments of some sort. There were even a couple of Star Wars posters.

One of these caught Anakin's eye. It was of a tall, ominous figure, completely in black from his shiny, full-face helmet to his boots. The only hint of color on his clothing came from a mechanical-looking breastplate that he wore; there were a few colored lights on it. Then Anakin saw what should have been the first thing he noticed about the picture:

The figure's hand held a red lightsaber.

A Sith! Anakin shuddered. Then a strange feeling, born of the Force, accosted him and nearly swept him away. Anakin was afraid of this unknown creature, but there was something familiar about him as well. The feeling was so strong that Anakin spent several minutes searching every detail of the picture, trying to find a resemblance to anyone he knew. He failed to find any such clue, but the Force only insisted harder that he knew the man from somewhere. Yes, it was a man; the Force had told him that much.

And why would Jeff have a picture of a Sith in his room, anyway?

Anakin wandered back into the living room and pondered the mysteries until Jeff came home.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Star Wars**

This chapter was really hard to write.

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As always, Jeff spent the time before dinner on his homework. Dinner that night was noodles with some kind of sauce – the family called it "afraid-o" sauce. Anakin wasn't sure what there was about it to be afraid of – he actually thought it was rather tasty – but he didn't question it. The meal, as a whole, was only slightly mushy, and Anakin enjoyed it.

After dinner, they all gathered in the family room as usual. This time, even Steve joined them. Anakin was slightly apprehensive; whatever happened in the next Star Wars was going to be from within the last two years. He certainly hoped that they didn't have footage of his visits to Padmé's apartment!

Anakin became even more confused when he saw the title of the Star Wars they were about to watch: _Revenge of the Sith._ Just when had the Sith gotten revenge? He puzzled over it until the description of the times came up with its now-familiar music. His eyes widened as he read.

"What?!!!" he burst out. "That isn't right! General Grievous better not have kidnapped the Chancellor! If he has I'll…"

"Umm, Anakin?" interrupted Jeff. "There's something that you should probably know. Uh, how long ago were you Knighted?"

"About a month."

"Well, then this is all about five months into the future for you."

"How do they know what I'm about to see is true?"

"The same way they knew all that other stuff that they shouldn't have known about you."

Anakin watched with great interest. He watched himself and Obi-wan on a mission to rescue the Chancellor. They had just found him and were preparing to set him free when Count Dooku came into the room.

"Oh, great, I get to fight him again!" growled Anakin. But this time, he defeated Count Dooku. His pleasure in his victory quickly evaporated and was replaced confusion, dismay, and shame when he saw his image, at Chancellor Paplatine's urging, murder the defenseless count.

"I shouldn't have done that!" he said in unison with the Anakin on the screen. He ignored the amused smiles of the family and continued, "Why did I listen to him?"

Jeff's smile disappeared. "Maybe you should be asking why he wanted you to kill him, not why you obeyed."

"He just doesn't understand the Jedi policy of not killing unarmed prisoners," argued Anakin. "It's completely natural that he should want Dooku dead, after all he's done."

Jeff had no response to that; he just turned back to watching the screen. Anakin turned his attention there as well – just in time to catch the fact that Chancellor Palpatine was telling Anakin to leave the unconscious Obi-wan on board the dying ship.

"Alright,_ that_ I have a problem with! Why is he being like this? The strain of his captivity must be getting to him!"

"Just watch. This is one that you really need to see all of," Jeff told him.

Anakin watched as he, carrying Obi-wan, and Palpatine tried to get into the turbolift. Artoo hacked into the ship's computer and opened the doors, but the pod wasn't there, and the ship was rotating onto its side, so they skipped the pod and just took the shaft.

"Oh, no," groaned Anakin, "I don't like where this is going."

It was going down. The ship turned back upright, and the recorded Anakin, Palpatine, and Obi-wan, who had regained consciousness, ended up falling down the turbolift shaft and swinging through another set of doors into the hallway beyond.

Anakin was dismayed when they were trapped in ray shields and brought before General Grievous, but he enjoyed watching himself and Obi-wan escape and destroy Grievous's entire crew. His enjoyment quickly turned to frustration when Grievous escaped yet again, leaving the two Jedi with the Chancellor on board the doomed ship. He watched in awe as his image safely landed the ship, which had broken in half, envying the skill of the pilot for a split second before remembering that he _was_ the pilot – or would be in about five months.

He saw himself alight from the shuttle that carried them all from the site of the landing to the senate building and slip off into the shadows to meet Padmé, who was waiting for him behind a pillar. They embraced, and then…

"_What?!!!" _roared Anakin, falling back in his seat on the couch. He was completely flabbergasted. "You've _got_ to be joking!" he exclaimed, nervous yet elated. A child! His and hers! This was… world-shaking!

And then came a terrible nightmare, spoiling the joy of both the Anakin in the recording and the one watching him. His mind raced. What if this recording was…like the other one?

Anakin's fears grew as he watched events escalate. When he saw the Council refuse to make him a Master, he sighed in frustration. He had had a small hope that his recorded image could become a Master and be allowed to search the restricted vaults of the archives, and thus find a way to prevent the nightmare from becoming real.

At least, having seen what would happen, he was now prepared for the disappointment.

Then there was the secret assignment to spy on the Chancellor. Anakin felt his indignation rise, even though it had not really happened yet! Obi-wan and the Council seemed to be every bit as suspicious of the Chancellor as Jeff was!

Wait… Jeff had obviously seen this recording before. Maybe he knew something that Anakin didn't…

Next, Anakin saw himself visiting Papatine at the Galactic Opera. He was astonished that Palpatine somehow knew about the "secret assignment" the recorded Anakin had been given. And then he began to say things that Anakin found even more alarming. Things about the Jedi conspiring against him, stories of the Sith. Dark things.

And then it struck Anakin. How exactly did _Palpatine,_ who supposedly knew nothing about the Force and little about the Jedi order, know _Sith legends?_ Anakin began to share Jeff's suspicions of Palpatine, enough so that he began to worry when the recorded Anakin seemed interested in Palpatine's story of a power to keep people from dying. Anakin suddenly realized that Palpatine had somehow found out about his marriage and his nightmares; the timing was just too perfect for it to be coincidence. But why would Palpatine try to interest Anakin in the powers of dead Sith Lords?

The events in the recording unfolded further. Obi-wan went off to Utapau with an army of clones and the intent of apprehending General Grievous; Anakin remained behind. When Obi-wan reported that he had defeated General Grievous, Mace Windu sent Anakin to take the news to the Chancellor and watch his reaction.

Anakin began to have a very bad feeling as he watched these things play out. When his recorded self took the news to Chancellor Palpatine, Anakin watched every word that was exchanged between them, growing more and more uneasy every moment. Then he heard Palpatine's words on the recording:

"My mentor taught me all about the Force – even the nature of the Dark Side."

Suddenly, it all came together for Anakin. "_He's_ the Sith Lord!" he whispered in shock. Everything else faded in the enormity of the terrible thing he had just heard. All the dreadful implications came crashing down on him – the whole reason behind the war, the betrayal of someone he had looked to as a mentor – it was simply overwhelming! And if this recording was real, as the others were…

Suddenly, Anakin discovered he was lying on the couch with all four of his hosts looking down at him anxiously.

"How did"—he whispered, struggling to sit up.

"Take it easy," said Steve, placing a big hand on Anakin's shoulder and holding him down. "You just rest here a minute. Alright, now, nice and slow…" he helped Anakin to sit up. Angela was pressing a cup of water into his shaking hand.

"Got it?" she asked gently. "Good. Now, sip at it, slowly. That must have been quite a shock for you to find out! All of a sudden, you just slumped over; I guess this has been too much for you to handle, at least in one night. If you want, you can try to watch the rest another time, but for tonight"-

"No!" Anakin protested vehemently. "I need to see what happens next! I'll never be able to sleep if I don't!"

"Are you sure?" asked Angela skeptically. Anakin nodded, and they all returned to their places and turned the recording back on. His recorded image now held his lightsaber near the back of Palpatine's neck.

"Oh, come on, don't hesitate, he's the Sith Lord, just kill him!" Anakin coached his recorded self. But then he remembered: Jedi do not kill unarmed prisoners. He watched in dismay as his image went to tell Master Windu what he'd learned.

Mace Windu gathered a group of Jedi masters to confront Palpatine, but told Anakin to wait in the Council chambers. Anakin watched himself do exactly that – until he was overwhelmed with visions of Padmé.

"Oh no," he whispered as he saw himself enter Palpatine's office, where Mace Windu held him at saberpoint on a narrow ledge of window. The other three Jedi Masters lay dead about the room.

And then Palpatine began to plead with Anakin.

"I told you the Jedi would try to take over!" exclaimed Palpatine. He and Master Windu exchanged threats, and then Palpatine began throwing Sith lightning at Master Windu, who blocked it with his violet lightsaber, channeling it back into Palpatine's body. The Anakin on the screen shielded his face from the horrific scene, as Palpatine lost strength until finally, the lightning ceased to flow from his fingertips.

"I'm too weak," he wailed, obviously trying to gain sympathy from the recorded Anakin.

"Don't listen to him, don't fall for it!" Anakin shouted at himself. But his image could not hear him; just as Windu raised his arm to strike, the recorded Anakin cut off his saber hand. He was defenseless against the lightning that Palpatine hurled at him anew, and was blown off the ledge and out the window.

"What have I done?" asked both Anakins together. No one found it funny this time.

Anakin waited for Palpatine to rise and kill the recorded Anakin, but he never did. Instead, he began to speak to him. With a horror unlike any he had felt before, Anakin watched as Palpatine asked the image to become his apprentice in the ways of the Sith. The horror reached new heights when the image accepted and was christened Darth Vader. Anakin was in shock.

Tears streamed from his eyes and fell freely down his face as he watched the clone troopers turn on their Jedi generals at Palpatine's orders. Death after death of his friends – it was almost unbearable!

But worse was yet to come. Anakin froze in horror as his recorded duplicate led an army of clones in a march on the Jedi Temple. He saw himself enter the Council chamber, which was full of frightened younglings. One of them came forward and asked for his help against the clones. His answer was an ignited lightsaber. Mercifully, the scene changed, but Anakin was still sickened by what he knew had occurred.

Guilt, shame, and self-loathing over crimes that he had not yet actually committed filled Anakin. Just knowing that it was in his future to do such terrible things was enough to make him despise himself.

In a daze, he saw himself stop to bid farewell to Padmé, as if everything were normal, and then fly off to a planet called Mustafar to finish the separatists.

He felt the pain of Obi-wan and Yoda, who had survived the attacks of their clone troopers, when they discovered his hideous betrayal.

He watched Obi-wan go to Padmé, looking for him, and stow away on her ship when she refused to tell him.

He saw himself murdering the Separatist leaders in cold blood in the complex on Mustafar.

The image no longer pretended for Padmé when she arrived; he tried to convince her to rule by his side. Then he caught sight of Obi-wan.

When his recorded self Force-choked Padmé for her supposed betrayal, Anakin fought not to be sick; he only barely succeeded. He saw Obi-wan's attempts to bring him back; when that failed, he watched as the Master and apprentice, who had been such close friends, engaged in a deadly duel. He saw Palpatine drive Yoda off, and when he saw the result of his own duel with Obi-wan, he just didn't have the capacity to be any more horrified than he already was. He merely felt nauseated again by the sight of his own ruined body.

He sobbed silently as he watched Padmé's life ebb away on the delivery table. The fact that she had borne twins didn't even seem to matter when she whispered her last words: "There's good in him still."

Then Anakin saw himself lying on an operating table. He watched as his ravaged body was reconstructed with artificial limbs and a special black space suit…with a chest plate sporting colored lights… and a shiny black full-face helmet!

Recognizing himself as the Sith in the picture in Jeff's room was the last straw. He had thought his horror could not grow any more, but with that sight, it was complete. His already upset stomach, agitated further by his sobbing and this new horror, revolted, and he had to race to the refresher.

He remained kneeling in front of the toilet for a long time after the heaving had stopped, sobbing until his eyes had no more tears to give. The shame and the horror filled him; his soul was in agony.

After a while, Angela was there beside him, offering him water to rinse his mouth out, and some of that fizzy stuff to settle his stomach. She didn't say a word, but sympathy was evident in her eyes. She still forgave him, even after knowing all of the atrocities he would commit! The thought brought more tears to his eyes – just when he thought he didn't have any more.

Angela gently pulled him to his feet and guided him into the living room, which was now dim and vacant. On the way, he caught a glimpse of Jeff, standing it the hall, sympathy shining from his eyes as well.

Angela made him lie down on the couch in the living room, then laid a cool, wet cloth over his eyes and left him alone. Anakin continued to sob quietly in the darkness. He wept long and hard, unable to stop until after midnight. Even then, he was unable to sleep, reliving what he had seen over and over, periodically bursting into tears again at a particularly horrifying memory. It was not until after four that he finally exhausted himself with his tears and cried himself to sleep for the second time since arriving on this planet.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own any part of Star Wars. Not even an Ewok!**

Sorry it's been a long time since my last update, but I had another story that was begging me to write it, so I did that one before I forgot it.

This chapter isn't the most exciting one, but it's important for Anakin.

I love reading reviews; they keep me from turning to the Dark Side.

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When Anakin woke up, his mind was completely blank for a few merciful minutes.

Then it all came rushing back. The hideous, evil things he would do! The friends he would betray! The lives he would end! The monster he would become!

He sat on the edge of the couch and buried his face in his hands. Despair and darkness filled his heart and mind. What would he do now?

He heard Angela come in.

"Good morning, Anakin. How are y… oh," she said, noticing his posture. "I'm guessing you'd like some time alone, wouldn't you? I – I'll just be in the kitchen if you need anything." Her footsteps retreated; she clearly had no idea what to do with him.

Anakin felt even worse. First, he found out that he would become a despicable traitor, and now he was making his hosts uncomfortable in their own home. For their sake, he made an effort to pull himself out of the dark well of depression he had fallen into, but he just didn't have it in him. His whole existence seemed pointless; his destiny was to destroy everything he had worked for so far in his life. What had he accomplished, then? Nothing his future actions wouldn't counteract, even overcome. He hadn't felt so low since his mother's death and his slaughter of the Tusken raiders; perhaps not even then.

He brooded for an hour before Angela came back and tentatively asked if he was hungry. He shook his head no, then rested it back in his hands. How could he eat with this terrible doom hanging over him?

He just didn't know what to do with this knowledge. Indeed, what was the use of doing anything at all, knowing it would all come to such an awful end? He sat holding his head in his hands for a long time, tears slowly leaking their way out between his fingers.

It was approaching noon when Anakin heard someone else come into the living room. He looked up just enough to see who it was: Jamie. She stood before him, still dressed in her pajamas, her hands on her hips. He remembered that the kids now had a break from school for that mysterious kriss-muss holiday. To avoid causing Jamie the same discomfort he had caused Angela, he sat up a little straighter and removed his hands from his face. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye, however, so he stared at the floor. After a little while, she went into the kitchen, and shortly after that, he heard her stride back down the hall. A few minutes later, however, she was back, this time fully dressed. She stood in front of him for a long time, arms crossed over her chest.

Finally, she spoke. "Are you just going to sit there on the couch for the rest of your life, then?" she demanded. "So you found out some things about yourself that you don't like! So supposedly, all that awful stuff is going to happen to you in a few months! Are you sit here that whole time and do nothing? What's the point of that? You may think that by just staying here, you can keep yourself from doing bad stuff like that, but you can't! You know, one of these days that Obi person is gonna come back here for you and make you go back where you're from! What are you going to do then? You'll probably just go on like you were before and end up doing it all anyway!"

She had a point. He could hardly just hide out on this family's couch for the rest of his life – or even for the next five months. Obi-wan was going to come with the fuel, and they'd go back to their own galaxy and go on with their lives.

"If you don't like what you saw, why don't you get up and do something about it? You know, maybe that's why you're here! Maybe those three movies were supposed to be like the three ghosts – Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas yet to come!"

Anakin stared at her utterly baffled. "You lost me," he finally admitted, using his voice for the first time in what felt like forever.

Jamie glared at him in disgust. "Haven't you ever heard of _A Christmas Carol_?" she shouted indignantly. She turned on her heel and growled in frustration. "Boys are soooo ignorant!" she yelled as she stomped down the hall.

Talk about ignorance! Anakin wondered if it had somehow escaped her that he had never been to this galaxy before!

But he had bigger problems than that. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that she was right: he couldn't use these people to try to hide from his own darkness. He had to do something. Maybe he could change what was going to happen. He thought ruefully back to the last time he tried to change the future. But this, he realized, was different. Then, he had been trying to hang on to the life of someone he loved. This time, he would simply be changing his own actions to avoid making a terrible mistake. This wasn't a prophetic dream; it was simply an ominous recording of what _could _happen if he continued the way he was going. And he knew that it would happen if he did not change somehow; having seen the recording from an outsider's point of view, he recognized warning signs that he saw in his galaxy. He knew he had to do something about them; he just didn't know what.

Anakin thought about it for a long while. He mulled possibilities over in his mind. Should he wait and see what happened? Would he be strong enough, when the time came, to resist his own selfish desires? Or should he avoid the whole thing: go straight back to the Council and blurt out that the Chancellor was a Sith Lord? But they'd never believe that. Maybe he should just gradually work to set things right, gathering evidence over time until he had a decent case to make.

Each solution had its advantages and its disadvantages, but all of them ultimately centered on one idea: Palpatine would have to die. The burden of this task, Anakin was sure, would fall upon himself, the "Chosen One." And none of the solutions guaranteed that he'd have enough mastery over himself to perform the deed.

He spent what seemed like hours, toying with each solution and its ramifications. He grew more and more weary with coming to the same conclusion: there was no plan that couldn't go wrong. He thought of ways to try and guarantee success, but each one came back to him and promptly failed. Anakin was too unpredictable even for himself to figure out!

Time went by; words began to lose their meaning; and Anakin's body grew as exhausted as his mind was. It was early afternoon when he suddenly was startled out of reverie by a loud _thump!_ and found himself lying on the floor in front of the sofa. He wasn't sure how he had gotten there, but quickly surmised that he had fallen asleep and tumbled from his seat on the edge of the sofa.

Angela heard the noise of his fall and came in to check on him just as he was picking himself up off the floor.

"Why don't you take a nap? You're obviously tired, and I bet your mind could use a break from brooding all morning."

Anakin knew she was right, so he stretched out on the sofa and fell back asleep almost immediately.

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When he awoke some time later, Steve had just come home form work, and it was nearing dinnertime.

Angela begged him to come and eat something. "You haven't had anything all day," she coaxed worriedly.

Anakin looked away. Steve peered into the doorway at him. "Ah. Been doing dome thinking, I see. Didn't like what you saw last night too much, I take it?"

Anakin shook his head slowly. Steve hadn't talked with him very much yet, and Anakin wasn't quite comfortable with him.

"Have you decided what you're going to do about it?"

"No. That's… what I've been thinking about," replied Anakin wearily. "I need a plan that's guaranteed to work."

Steve came over and sat down beside him, and Angela left them alone. "So, tell me – what have you got so far?"

Anakin listed his ideas, explaining the pros and cons, but always coming back to the knowledge that he would have to work properly in order for the plan to.

"So I don't know what to do," he admitted, wondering why he had just shared all of this with a man he barely knew.

"Well, it all comes back to you, then, doesn't it?" said Steve. "Would you mind if I offered an opinion?"

"I wouldn't mind – I'd be grateful."

"Now, I don't know you very well, either from the movies or from meeting you in person, but here's what I noticed: each of your offered solutions focuses on what to do about your Chancellor-turned Emperor. Maybe you should look first and see what you can change about _you._ For instance, don't be offended, but you are a very prideful person. Both here and in the movies, I've seen you try to hide weaknesses so no one sees that you have them; they see only the invincible warrior. Like when you were carsick, for instance. You didn't come right out and say you felt sick, my kids had to figure it out on their own. You may not have thought of pride motivating that, but I'll bet that was the real reason you didn't say anything. Now, believe me, I know it's tough to admit to weakness, especially for us men, and especially when you've got the pressure of everyone expecting you to be a hero all day, every day. But you've got to learn to let go of that ego, son, and let people know when you need something. If you can lose some of the pride, it will help you in everything. Help you to ask for help when you need it, and to respect others more, especially your elders. Trust me, your club leaders'll like that. It'll help you not to get so worked up about things, too; if you keep your ego small, it doesn't get bruised so often, and you don't feel like blowing up at people so much."

Anakin considered this. Of course! He needed to change his own behavior as well as trying to expose Palpatine! He'd never thought of it quite that way before. He actually grinned as he thought of the many times poor Obi-wan had scolded him for his prideful or reckless behavior.

"Anyway, if you can get rid of that prideful attitude, you'll get better at controlling that temper of yours and those fears. And then – who knows? When it comes time to get rid of your Sith Lord, you might just have the willpower to do it!"

Steve got up and left, heading in to the kitchen for dinner. Anakin thought over what he had been told. It was good advice, he realized, and he would do well to remember it.

Also, he found that he felt better for having told someone else of his dilemma, even someone he didn't know very well. It was good to get it outside his head instead of having it all bouncing around crazily inside. "Steve!" he called after the man.

Steve turned in the doorway.

"Thank you," said Anakin.

"You're welcome," the big man answered. "Now, would you care to join us for dinner?"

Anakin smiled and followed him to the kitchen table.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.** **Really, I don't!**

I have gotten back to working on my upcoming Really Long Story; that's why this is taking so long. I am _deeply_ sorry.

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Anakin was amazed. Dinner, for once, was not mush! They had some kind of meat that came shaped in a circle, served in between two circular pieces of bread, and long skinny things that seemed to be some kind of vegetable, along with some long skinny yellow things that could be said to be mushy on the inside, but were crispy enough on the outside to make up for it. They tasted good, and Anakin felt much better after he was full.

After dinner, he returned to the living room to think about how he would proceed. How exactly could he stop acting so prideful? He supposed he could start by paying more heed to the instructions and advice of Obi-wan and the Council. Much as it galled him to imagine completely submitting himself to them – it felt too much like slavery – it occurred to him that they might actually have reasons for the things they asked of him. After all, every one of them was older than he was, most by many years. Surely their opinions deserved at least to be considered! And he would have to be more patient and not take it as a personal affront when they did not award him the recognition he thought he deserved. It wouldn't be easy; he'd found that it took an awful lot to impress the Council enough to receive any sort of encouragement.

Submitting to their regulations would be even more difficult, however, considering his marriage to Padmé. She was his world, and he would not give her up or betray her trust. Anything else could give, he decided, but that he would cling to – even if it meant he could no longer be a Jedi.

His thoughts were interrupted by Jeff coming in. The boy stood uncomfortably before him until Anakin patted the sofa beside him. This was absurd – Jeff lived here, and he wouldn't sit on his own couch unless Anakin, a stranger, and one with a sordid future at that, invited him!

Jeff squirmed for a minute before speaking up. "Man, I'm sorry you had to see that last night. I know you had kind of a rough time with that – it was pretty tough stuff to see. But I – I felt like you should know… I kept thinking how you would feel if you did all that stuff and then found out that someone could have warned you about it, given you a chance not to – I mean, that would just suck!"

It seemed like a good time to practice some humility. "Thank you, said Anakin. "It was hard to have to see – I hated it. But I'm glad you made me see it; like you said, now I have half a chance. And it can't have been easy for you to show it to me, either. I'm sure you worried about how I would react. Thank you."

Jeff avoided the compliment. "Umm… You're welcome? I guess…"

Anakin turned away from him thoughtfully. "Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to keep it from happening." A sudden thought struck him. "Hey, you seem to know more about this than anybody else. What do you think I should do?"

Anakin enjoyed the spectacle of Jeff blushing at the thought of Anakin Skywalker asking him for advice. At first he thought perhaps that wasn't very Jedi-like of him, but then he realized his enjoyment came from the fact that Jeff would have something to be proud of, not the fact that he was uncomfortable.

"Well, I guess all I can say is, listen to Obi-wan. That guy really does care about you, even if it doesn't always feel that way. It just looks different on him 'cause he's been a Jedi all his life. And that goes for all the other Jedi; you all can't ever hope to completely understand how each other work because they've all been Jedi forever, but you were a just a regular person for the first nine years of your life. You just have to recognize that when they do something you don't like, and accept it. You can still be one of them, but you gotta be okay with the fact that you'll always be a little different. But that's okay, too, 'cause that's the way it's supposed to be. Everybody's different from everybody else somehow; that's what makes people who they are. It's how we're all the same." Jeff looked confused and his seemingly contradictory statement, but Anakin somehow understood perfectly. It sounded like the sort of thing Padmé would say.

"Anyway," Jeff went on, blushing furiously, "I really think you ought to tell Obi-wan about… you know… Mrs. Skywalker. He'll probably be kind of upset, but he'll get over it. He really wants to help you. You keep saying he's like a father to you? Well, treat him like one! Sons don't hide things like that from their fathers – and when they do, it always turns out bad. It's better to tell him than have him find out by himself. And you for sure have to tell him about what happened with your mom – the whole thing. That's not gonna be fun, for you or him, but he can help you figure out how to deal with that. The point is, don't keep him in the dark. He's there to help you, so let him!"

Anakin was amazed at the maturity the boy's words displayed. It wasn't apparent at first glance, but Jeff clearly had a wisdom that was unusual among boys his age, at least when it came to understanding mentors.

Really, each member of the family was wise in their own way. Angela's wisdom lay in giving sympathy and caring for people's needs. Jamie's wisdom was her ability to galvanize people to action. Steve's wisdom helped people to see their own faults, and Jeff's wisdom was that of understanding how to deal with leading influences.

"Thank you," said Anakin at last. "You've given me a lot to think about. I'll remember that." Jeff looked gratified.

The rest of the night was spent playing a game called "Monopoly." It was very long, and by the time it was over, Anakin referred to it in his own mind as "Monotony." He didn't quite understand how to play, since it involved the use of money, something he didn't have much of as a Jedi, and this money was in the local currency. He did poorly, but he didn't really care. His mind was full of other things.

When he went to bed, his mind was finally at rest. No lying awake, no nightmares, just peaceful slumber.

Until he was awakened by a very insistent pushing at his mind.

_Anakin._

_Anakin!_

_Master? _he asked, finally recognizing the voice.

_Yes, Anakin, I'm here. I went to a planet called Jabreeko to get fuel, and was grounded by sever atmospheric disturbances for two-and-a-half days. Then I got a bit lost, until it occurred to me to try and find your Force signature. I found it easily enough – it was unusually strong, you were broadcasting a great deal of pain, but that can wait until later -- and… here I am!_

_Master, it's three in the morning._

_Oh, dear. I'm sorry, I had forgotten that Jabreeko runs on a different time due to the position of their sun. I will allow you to go back to sleep, then. Be sure to contact me first thing tomorrow morning!_

_Yes, Master._

So Obi-wan had felt his pain; that could be good or bad. He decided not to worry about it just then.

His last thought before sleep reclaimed him was of amusement over Obi-wan being lost.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: No part of Star Wars belongs to me.**

I recall a request for Anakin to give Jeff a short starfighter ride, and I did consider it, but I ended up coming back to my initial conclusion. Both Anakin's and Obi-wan's starfighters are military craft designed for one person only; there is only one seat, and cockpit space is very limited. To give Jeff a ride, Anakin would have to allow Jeff to sit on his lap. Besides that being a bit awkward, it is extremely difficult to pilot a starfighter while someone is sitting on you lap – especially if that someone is a teenager or adult who is large enough to obscure your view and make it difficult to reach the controls. Could it be done? Undoubtedly, yes, but Obi-wan certainly wouldn't allow it, so I am afraid I will have to say no to the reviewer who suggested it. Thanks for the suggestion, though. I welcome them.

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The golden light that filled the living room when he woke up told Anakin that it was midmorning. He knew that he should rouse himself, contact his Master, and inform the family of his impending departure, but instead he lay there for a few more minutes, enjoying being warm and comfortable. He basked in the moment, his worries temporarily few. His future was uncertain, but at least now he had a plan. At least he knew exactly what _not _to do!

He allowed himself to slip into the Force. _Master! Master? Can you hear me?_

_Anakin! Where are you? Let me know, so I can bring you the fuel and we can leave this planet! We will be too late to complete our original mission; fortunately, I contacted the Council some days ago, and others have been sent in our stead. We are to return to Coruscant for debriefing and to receive our next assignment._

_Of course, Master._

_So, where are you?_

Anakin thought for a moment. _Well,_ he admitted with embarrassment,_ I don't exactly know._

_You don't know?_

_I entered the atmosphere somewhere on the top half; that's all I know for sure. I didn't immediately land; I flew my fighter above one of their roads for a while. Then, when I realized I was running out of fuel, I set it down in a field within sight of a city. I walked there, but it took me seven hours. It was cold and snowing, and I probably would have frozen to death, but I when I reached the edge of the city, a family found me and has been lodging me ever since._

Anakin could almost imagine Obi-wan's exasperated sigh._ How am I supposed to come to you, then?_

Anakin thought for a moment. _I'll have to go back to my fighter and have Artoo activate my ship's homing beacon._

_All right. I'll be waiting. _

_Yes, Master._

Anakin's spirits sank with the thought of the long, cold walk back to his starfighter, but that seemed insignificant when compared with the knowledge that he would now be leaving his new friends, who had been so kind to him, and probably saved him from a tragic fate. He knew he should tell them as soon as possible, so he got up off the couch and went into the kitchen. Angela was there, along with Jeff and Jamie. They were all baking something together.

Each of them shouted a "Good morning!" when they saw Anakin.

"Good morning," he replied awkwardly. "I – ah – I have some news. Obi-wan contacted me late last night. He has returned with the fuel for my starship. My presence is required back on Coruscant, so I – the time has come, I guess, for me to go back to my own galaxy."

All three of them stopped their work and stared in surprise – and even, perhaps, a little dismay.

"I just – I can't thank you enough for taking me in and caring for me. If it wasn't for all of you, I doubt I would have even survived that first night. You have been so kind to me, and you have helped me more than you could ever know," Anakin continued.

Everyone knew he meant their showing him his future.

"I guess I haven't really been the most fun person to have around, and I'd like to apologize for the inconvenience I must have been to you. Anyway, I'm glad I met you all. I consider you my friends, and I hope you consider me yours, too. I'm going to miss all of you. I only wish there was some way I could repay you for your generosity and kindness to me," said Anakin, swallowing past the lump in his throat. How had that gotten there? He certainly hadn't been expecting it!

"Oh, we were glad to have you!" said Angela quickly and warmly. "You were very entertaining, and we'll miss having you around. Won't we, kids?"

"Yeah," said Jeff dejectedly. Jamie nodded, her eyes large and confused.

"Do you have to go today?" she suddenly blurted out. "Couldn't you wait until tomorrow?"

Anakin was surprised and amused. All along, he'd been sure Jamie disliked him! Now she wanted him to stay?

"I'm afraid not," he answered with a sad smile. "Apparently, they need me and Obi-wan back there. In fact, I'd better leave as soon as I can; it's going to take me a while to get back to my starfighter."

Angela laughed. "If you think we're going to let you _walk _all the way back out there, you're wrong! By your own admission, you barely made it alive last time! Who would rescue you this time?"

"Well, Obi-wan might," Anakin joked, trying to lighten up the situation, "but I don't know after the way I teased him about getting lost. Which he did, by the way."

Jeff and Jamie thought that was hilarious. "Obi-wan got lost?" they both squealed.

"We'll drive you out," said Angela. "You just took the main road straight in from the countryside, right?"

"Yes. It should be easy to see which field my fighter's in even from the road. I just hope someone else hasn't discovered it. And I hope Artoo's okay."

Angela smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure they'll be fine. I have a question for you, though. Do you think you could wait until my husband's lunch hour to leave? I think he'll want to say goodbye, too."

Anakin thought about it, then nodded. "I'm sure the Republic can spare me for a few extra hours."

Angela went to telephone Steve, and Anakin went into the living room to make sure he had all of his things. Most of what he had were clothes, but he had to make sure all of the items that belonged in the pouches on his belt were there.

_Rebreather, check. Food capsules, check. Medkit, check. Lightsaber, check…_

He looked up to see Jamie staring at his lightsaber with wide eyes. For a moment, Anakin didn't understand. She had seen it before, hadn't she?

Then it dawned on him, and an idea came into his head. It was not a good idea.

It was a _fabulous_ idea! Wise? No. But then, Anakin had yet to become renowned for his wisdom. Especially among the Jedi, who seemed to – but that attitude would get him into trouble of galactic proportions. He wasn't sure how to handle it, so he simply dodged it and snapped his mind back to the present.

"Hey, I have to ask your mother something. Would you hold on to this for me for a moment?"

Jamie nodded, her eyes bigger than Tatooine's twin suns.

He handed the shiny weapon to her; she held it carefully in both hands. Anakin knew she wasn't a big Star Wars lover, but she obviously knew a rugged weapon when she saw one.

"Just don't turn it on," he cautioned laughingly over his shoulder.

When he asked Angela, she looked shocked and slightly horrified; but he persevered.

"I will understand completely if you say no. However, I promise, I will not let them get hurt. I will supervise them carefully and make sure they stay completely safe. I will guide them the entire time."

Angela hesitated. Finally, she gave in. "All right, but only if it's outside."

"Of course," agreed Anakin. He went into the living room and retrieved his lightsaber from Jamie. "Go put your coat on," he told her. "Jeff! Come on outside for a minute!"

Once both children were outside, he pulled out his lightsaber again. He came around and stood behind Jamie. He placed the handle into her hands.

"Now," he instructed, "hold very still and press this button."

A look of disbelief crossed her face, but she obeyed anyway. With a _snap-hiss_ and a _zoom,_ a glowing blue bar of plasma appeared in the air. Jamie stared in awe and wonderment at the object her hands held.

After letting her stare, Anakin placed his hands on the hilt over hers and repositioned them. "See, you hold it this way."

He guided her slowly through the different attack and parry positions, his hands not leaving hers the entire time. Jeff stood to the side, watching enviously.

In a few minutes, Angela also appeared outside. In her hand was a silvery box.

"Would you be comfortable with my taking your picture?"

Anakin nodded, and Angela told him and Jamie to pose and smile while she clicked away on what Anakin inferred to be a camera. When they were done, Anakin instructed Jamie to turn off the lightsaber.

Then he approached Jeff with it. "Your turn," he said with a smile. Jeff's face broke into a huge grin as he stepped forward to receive the lightsaber. Anakin allowed him a little more freedom, mostly because it would have been awkward for him to hold onto Jeff''s hands the entire time; the boy was a teenager, and already tall enough to make guiding his movements difficult. Anakin simply instructed him from the outset not to move until told to do so. Angela continued taking pictures.

Then she said, "All right, Jeff, give Anakin back his lightsaber before I have a nervous breakdown, and everybody get together for a group picture!" Anakin stood in the middle, an arm around both children, and they all smiled. Once the picture was taken, Jamie squealed, "Now let's do a silly one!"

Anakin was confused. "A silly one?"

Jeff explained. "That's where you do your best to look ridiculous for a picture."

Anakin still didn't get it. "You make yourself look stupid on purpose? For someone to record? Why?"

"Because it's funny!" yelled Jamie enthusiastically.

It still didn't make any sense to Anakin, but he played along and stuck his tongue out and crossed his eyes. At the last moment, he had an inspiration and used the Force to make all or their hair stand straight up.

Angela took one look at the picture on her camera and laughed. "Well," she said at last, "Steve is taking an extra hour or so after lunch so he can see you off, so we'd better get going so we can meet up with him."

They all went into the garage to get in the car. Angela looked at Anakin. "Perhaps you'd better sit in the front seat," she advised. He did as instructed, and kept his eyes looking out at the horizon the entire time. First, they picked up Steve from his place of work; then, they turned around and went out of the city on the road Anakin had walked next to nearly a week ago.

They had been driving for some time when Anakin finally spotted the field in which his starfighter sat. "There!" he pointed it out.

Angela pulled the car over to the side of the road, and they all got out. They trudged their way through the snow to the snow-covered lump that was Anakin's ship; it had not been disturbed, a fact which Anakin found greatly comforting. He brushed the snow off the wings, with Jeff and Steve pitching in, and Jamie let Anakin boost her up on top so she could brush off the highest part of the cockpit. When the whole ship was exposed, the family stood and stared in wonder.

"I never thought I'd see one of these for real!" said Jeff.

"Will that thing really take you back through space to another galaxy?" asked Jamie.

"Yes, if I can get Obi-wan to bring me some fuel," replied Anakin. "Hey, Artoo! How are you holding up, under all that snow?"

He received a cheery little whistle in response, and he instructed the droid to activate the ship's homing beacon. Then he reached into the Force.

_Master? I've activated the homing beacon. Come into the atmosphere and see if you can locate it._

_Alright, Anakin._

He felt his Master's concentration. Perhaps two minutes went by. Then,

_I have it, Anakin. I will be there in a few minutes._

_Yes, Master._

He pulled out of the connection and informed the family that he had made contact.

Just to pass the time, he introduced the family to R2-D2. Jamie became instant friends with the droid, and they chattered for most of the time until Obi-wan arrived. Jamie didn't understand a word of R2's electronic language, but she proved to be quite adept at interpreting the little astromech's tone.

Perhaps twenty minutes had passed when they heard a sound that was strange to all save Anakin: the sound of a starfighter's sublight drives. Seconds later, a red-and-gray craft appeared in the sky and approached at astonishing speed, finally slowing and settling next to Anakin's yellow starfighter in the field.

There was a _hiss_ of releasing pressure; the cockpit opened, and out stepped Obi-wan.

Anakin greeted him. "Master! It's good to see you again!"

"Likewise, my friend," said Obi-wan.

Anakin turned to his hosts. "Friends, this is my Master, Obi-wan Kenobi. Obi-wan, these are my friends and hosts: Steve, Angela, Jeff, and Jamie."

Obi-wan gave them a gracious smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you," he said. "I cannot thank you enough for caring for my former Padawan while he was here. You have done us and the Jedi Order a great service."

"Oh, we enjoyed having him," said Angela, quite sincerely. "We'll miss having him around."

"I have brought the fuel," continued Obi-wan, "and if Anakin will use it to fill his fuel tank, I will take him off your hands and we shall depart. It is in the storage area for spare parts."

"Yes, Master," said Anakin, heading around to retrieve the fuel container.

"Oh, and Anakin!" added Obi-wan, "I am no longer your Master; in case you had forgotten, you were knighted a little more than a week ago."

Anakin's face burned red as everyone laughed at him. He absorbed himself in the task of refueling his starfighter.

"Well, it won't be the same without you around," said Steve to Anakin. The family agreed.

"Will you come back and visit us sometime?" asked Jamie pleadingly.

"Force willing!" said Anakin with a smile as he finished his task.

Obi-wan shook hands with each of the family members. "It is time for us to go now. Thank you again for taking care of Anakin. Perhaps, if we return, we shall bring a ship large enough for all of you, and you may visit our galaxy!"

Anakin shook hands with Steve, who said, "Goodbye, Anakin. Remember what I told you!"

"I will," he replied.

"You take care of yourself, you hear?" said Angela when he came to her. "No more seven-hour walks in the snow, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Anakin said teasingly. "That's one order I'll be glad to obey!"

Jeff was very quiet as Anakin shook his hand.

"Thank you… for everything," said Anakin.

"Good luck, man," Jeff replied softly.

When he came to Jamie, she threw her arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for letting us play with your lightsaber! That was soooo totally cool!"

Anakin cringed as Obi-wan looked askance at him. "Don't worry, Master, I can explain. It's not how it sounds."

To Jamie, he said, "Goodbye. And thanks for pulling me out of my mood yesterday. I really needed that."

Jamie looked confused, but Anakin could tell she was pleased. "Thanks," she said quietly.

Both Jedi climbed into their starfighters and fired up the engines. As the repulsorlifts engaged and the transparisteel cockpits began to slide into place, Jeff suddenly called out, "May the Force be with you!"

"And with you!" Anakin answered back. The cockpits sealed with a hiss, and the starfighters sped off. Moments later, they vanished in the winter sky.

_End_

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Well, there it is, folks! And now, a question for you: Epilogue, or sequel? A sequel would be mostly about what Anakin does with his new knowledge; an epilogue would just sum it up briefly. Vote with your reviews; whichever has the most votes by Monday will win!


	17. Chapter 17

Hello, readers! I'm sorry I kept forgetting to post this for three days. I just wanted to let you know: The votes are all in and counted, and it is official! By unanimous vote, the word is: Sequel!

I will be pre-writing a lot of it to make for more regular updates, so I will probably begin posting it in the next couple of weeks. I haven't yet decided on a title, but I will put in the description that it is the sequel, so be on the lookout! Enjoy!


	18. Chapter 18

Just wanted to give you all a heads up that my sequel has begun! It is entitled, "Making a Difference." Maybe this title will end up matching better than my last one did!


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